O’Rourke meets Jones in Scotties final

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This article was published 06/02/2010 (5922 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Could the province known for potatoes finally end the famine at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts?

Prince Edward Island has never won a Canadian women’s curling championship. It’s never even been to a final in the Scotties’ 29-year history.

But all that could change Sunday.

Kathy O’Rourke’s Charlottetown team meets Jennifer Jones’ Team Canada foursome from Winnipeg in the Scotties final at the Essar Centre. The teams had identical 8-3 records during the 12-team round-robin.

The final is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (CST) and will be broadcast live on TSN.

“It’s pretty amazing right now,” said O’Rourke, who throws second stones but calls the shots. “We’re just happy that P.E.I. is in a final. We still have some unfinished business. Still, it feels good to make that history for P.E.I.

“Now, we want to make the real history.”

P.E.I. knocked off Ontario’s Krista McCarville 10-6 in the Scotties semifinal on Saturday night.

O’Rourke’s team really wasn’t on the radar screen prior to the championship, particularly because the veteran curler had two relative unknowns, Erin Carmody and Geri-Lynn Ramsay, both just 21, playing the back end.

O’Rourke said the steady-handed Carmody was brilliant with the final brick.

“She was on fire. I told her (Friday) night you can consider that a practise game and come out (Saturday) and just do your thing. And she did it,” said O’Rourke, 45. “When it was over, I think we were all in shock.”

Carmody had an incredible 93 shooting percentage in the semifinal

She had struggled in the 1 vs. 2 game of the Page playoffs Friday, giving Canada the opportunity to win 8-5 and advance directly to the final. But now P.E.I. gets the rematch it so desperately wanted.

“We have a score to settle with Team Canada, I hope,” said O’Rourke.

There’s so much on the line for O’Rourke’s plucky foursome, that includes Tricia Affleck at lead. A win today sends them to the worlds in Swift Current, Sask., next month. But it would also allow them to return to the Scotties in 2011 as Team Canada — to be held in Charlottetown.

And O’Rourke is on the organizing committee for that event.

Jones, third Cathy Overton-Clapham, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin are gunning for their third straight Scotties title.

“They’re playing really well… P.E.I. had the best record in the round-robin,” said Jones, after practising late Saturday afternoon.

“We’re just going to go out there and do our thing, and, hopefully, that’s good enough.”

Jones skipped the team to the 2008 and ‘09 national titles, and is attempting to become only the third team in history to pull off the three-peat.

Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia actually won four Scotties in a row (2001-04), while Saskatchewan’s Vera Pezer won three straight Canadian crowns (1971-73).

“We’re in the final, so we’re pretty excited about that,” Jones said. “We look back to the first year this team was put together and we won the Canadian championship in ‘05. And we’ve been in the playoffs ever since. I think we pinch ourselves sometimes.”

Earlier in the day, McCarville posted a 6-4 victory over Kelly Scott of British Columbia in the 3 vs. 4 game.

The Ontario skip was absolutely brilliant in that contest but had a reversal of fortunes in the semifinal. She struggled early with draw weight, falling behind P.E.I. 5-1 after just three ends and 7-2 at the fifth-end break.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca