Team Manitoba stretches unbeaten streak to 4-0

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This article was published 20/02/2017 (3162 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Even two rough ends couldn’t scuff Michelle Englot’s record at the 2017 Scotties.

Englot and her Team Manitoba stretched their unbeaten streak to 4-0 on Monday, recovering from mid-game stumble against Newfoundland and Labrador to claim a 10-5 win. The game was not as easy as the score suggests.

It began in Manitoba’s favour, as a stolen deuce in the second end lifted them to a 3-0 lead. But soon, they ran into trouble: in the fourth, Newfoundland skip Stacie Curtis stole one to tighten the score to 3-2.

Then, in the fifth, a near disaster: facing a pile of Newfoundland rocks, Englot didn’t have much. Curtis stole three, and suddenly rocketed into a 5-3 lead. But Englot, who’s battled back from many deficits this season, didn’t worry.

“Those were really the only two bad ends,” she said. “After that, I thought we totally controlled the second half of the game. We’ve battled back all year, and that’s just what we remind ourselves.”

Well, it panned out. Englot came back swinging with a deuce of her own; she then stole three consecutive singles by forcing Curtis into tough positions, and capped off the win with a 10th end stolen deuce.

By the way, it wasn’t only the Manitobans who went thieving in the 1:30 p.m. CST draw.

Steals abounded in the afternoon, sneaking onto every sheet. In one game, British Columbia’s Marla Mallett stole four from Northwest Territories’ Kerry Galusha; the Yellowknife skip promptly scored a triple and then stole three.

Just like that, Galusha had a lead. It eventually paved the way for her to win 12-9.

Next door, the clash between Quebec and Prince Edward Island featured three stolen ends, including a third-end grand theft triple by Quebec skip Eve Belisle. When it was over, her Montreal team came out on top 8-7.

And Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink gave up three consecutive stolen singles to Ontario’s Rachel Homan, who cruised to a 6-4 win. That stretched Ontario’s record to a comfy 4-0, keeping pace with Manitoba as the only unbeaten teams.

Team Manitoba will be back on the ice tonight to face Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville. This could be a key match between playoff contenders; depending on how the week plays out, a win here could take on greater significance.

“Every win early is big,” Englot said. “We know we have a tough few games coming up here, so we just need to refocus and come in stronger tonight.”

Their tilt will be TSN’s feature match, broadcast live at 6:30 p.m. CST.

 

2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Standings After 6 Draws

Manitoba (Englot) 4-0

Ontario (Homan) 4-0

Northwest Territories (Galusha) 3-1

Northern Ontario (McCarville) 2-1

Canada (Carey) 2-1

Quebec (Belisle) 2-2

Alberta (Kleibrink) 2-2

Newfoundland & Labrador (Curtis) 2-2

Nova Scotia (Mattatall) 1-2

Saskatchewan (Barker) 0-3

Prince Edward Island (MacPhee) 0-4

British Columbia (Mallett) 0-4