Einarson clinches Scotties playoff spot

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2016 (3704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. – The women who know Kerri Einarson best always boast the reigning Manitoba champion makes the saviour shot all the time.

So that is why, when Selena Kaatz placed the broom for Einarson’s desperate final throw of the Scotties round robin on Friday morning, the Team Manitoba third was calm. As soon as Einarson settled into the hack, Kaatz believed that hammer shot would find its mark.

“I knew she was going to make it,” Kaatz said. “You know she’s going to make that pressure shot, all the time. I had no doubt in the world that she was going to make it. No chance she’s missing it.”

With the chance to secure their playoff dream riding on the line, Einarson didn’t miss. She scored three on that final 10th end throw, a double takeout through a narrow port, to complete a stunning 7-6 comeback over New Brunswick’s Sylvie Robichaud.

That means that Einarson, who finished the week at 7-4, clinched her spot in the 3-vs-4 Page playoff game. Now, the last three Manitoba champions are among the final four teams standing at the 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

In the top Page playoff game: Jennifer Jones and Chelsea Carey, the 2014 Manitoba champion now camped out in Alberta. In the 3-vs-4 Page game, Einarson will play Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville, who also finished 7-4 on the week but lost to Einarson in the round robin.

If Einarson had lost to Robichaud, there would have been tiebreakers galore. Instead, she will prepare to face McCarville at 2:30 p.m. CST on Saturday. As Einarson came off the ice, she wiped tears from her eyes, and trembled. “My legs are still shaking,” she said, and laughed.

It was a stunning turnaround, after Einarson slumped in the first half and trailed 5-2 after giving away a steal of one in the sixth end. Her rocks weren’t curling well, she thought, and the misses piled up. The team got together and started talking about it, and started to sort it out.

“My girls stayed with me,” Einarson said. “I know I struggled through the first half, and I got rid of my rocks, and then I started making some shots.”

Still, it seemed as if Robichaud, who came into the game sitting 2-8 on the week and fighting only to stave off relegation, was on a path to win. She was leading 6-4 playing the 10th end, and at skip stones she was counting one near the button. She had a chance to choke Einarson off.

Instead, she miscalculated. With her last rock, Robichaud opted to put a second New Brunswick shot stone in the four-foot paint, rather than guard the path to button. Einarson, who rarely sees a blistering double kill she doesn’t want to play, saw her chance.

“It’s one of my shots that I always love to throw,” Einarson said. “I knew I was going to make that one. I told my girls, ‘okay guys, just stick with me, I’ll make a couple.’ They stuck with me, they made a few, and I finished it off.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

She made no mistake. As the rock came in, second Liz Fyfe worried it might need to curl a little more. But it stayed true, and as the New Brunswick rocks rolled out the Manitobans exploded. They set a goal of making the playoffs in their rookie campaign, Einarson said, and now they have a new one – to win it.

“Just one game at a time,” Einarson said. “Come out and play your best and give it your heart and give it everything you got, just leave it all on the ice.”

Also in the morning draw, Jones finalized her 1-vs-2 game spot with an 11-4 win over British Columbia’s Karla Thompson. That means Jones, third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen finished their week at 9-2, and will face Chelsea Carey at 7:30 p.m. CST tonight to win a bye to Sunday’s final.

Manitoba will have hammer and choice of rocks when they play McCarville at 2:30 p.m. CST on Saturday.

Melissa Martin
Reporter-at-large

Melissa Martin reports and opines for the Winnipeg Free Press.

Every piece of reporting Melissa produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.