Manitoba teams each notch second wins in round robin play at Scotties

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This article was published 28/01/2018 (3128 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PENTICTON, B.C. — It was a grey yet picturesque day in Penticton, dimmed by a sticky morning snow that veiled the mountains from view. Yet for all three Manitoba teams here at Scotties, it started off with a sunny day on the sheets.

After two Sunday draws, Michelle Englot, Jennifer Jones and Kerri Einarson had all notched their second win of the round robin. (Englot’s night game against Alberta ended after press time; WinnipegFreePress.com has the story.)

Of those three games, only Englot’s 6-5 morning squeaker over Team Quebec brought unexpected drama.

The match wasn’t expected to be a nailbiter: the Quebec foursome are only in their teens, and were surprise victors at their own provincial final. But while it wasn’t Team Canada’s best performance, credit is due to the youngsters.

“They played really well,” Englot said, after the win. “We had them in trouble, and (the skip) made some really great bail shots, and gave me some difficult ones… she just has really good feel for the game, and they throw really well.”

For instance, Quebec skip Emilia Gagne was trailing 5-4 in the 10th end, but coming home with hammer. She had a chance to tap Englot’s shot rock back for a game-winning deuce, and threw a pretty shot that nestled to the button.

The opposing rocks sat so close, they needed a measure; Englot held second shot by just centimetres.

In the extra end, Englot threw an open hit for a single, to seal the win. Afterwards, the 18-year-old Quebec skip sighed as she thought about how close she came to toppling Team Canada, the third seed here in Penticton.

Still, it was a result to be proud of, Gagne agreed: “It proved that we deserve to be here today.”

In the afternoon draw, reigning Manitoba champion Jennifer Jones rose to 2-0 with a six-end, 14-1 blowout of rookie Yukon skip Chelsea Duncan. No hard feelings: after the game, the two teams posed for a beaming group photo.

Nearby, wild card winner Kerri Einarson had to be more careful against Nova Scotia veteran Mary-Anne Arsenault; the teams were tied at 3-3 after seven ends. But a big three-ender in the eighth helped seal Einarson’s 7-5 win.

Jones and Einarson will be back in action with two games on Monday, while Englot has one. The action starts in the morning, when Jones takes on Nova Scotia, and Einarson goes toe-to-toe with Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson.

The 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts continues through Feb. 4. The top four finishers in each round robin pool move onto a championship round, which kicks off Thursday; that round will decide the weekend’s four playoff spots.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca