Canada lets one slip away

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This article was published 30/04/2021 (1938 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kerri Einarson’s long-awaited and eagerly anticipated debut at the world women’s curling championship didn’t exactly go as hoped.

Team Canada was in total control of Sweden — until it wasn’t on Friday afternoon.

Leading by three at the fifth-end break, the Gimli squad let the contest slip away. Einarson surrendered steals of one in each of the ninth and 10th ends to fall 6-5 to reigning Olympic gold medallist Anna Hasselborg from Stockholm in the opening game for both teams in Calgary.

“We definitely can’t get down, because I thought we played really well and we had an opportunity to win and it just slid by,” said Einarson. She needed a piece of the button with her last-rock draw but was heavy.

“It’s a long week and we knew this game was going to be a big game. They played really well and put some pressure on us. We know that we have to come out and play well in our next one.”

Einarson’s two-time reigning Scotties championship foursome, with third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur, had very little time to dwell on the rough start, returning to the ice at WinSport Arena in the late draw against Anna Kubeskova of Czech Republic.

Einarson’s last toss in the 10th against the Swedes might well have been overswept, a rare miscue by the reliable front-enders.

“I thought the speed was good, it just carried a little bit more. Kerri threw it really good. She threw them really good all game. We got caught a couple of time but I think we learned a lot and, ultimately, we had control in the end but just brushed that a little bit,” said Sweeting.

Einarson’s bid for a 2020 world crown was dashed when the event in Prince George, B.C., was scrapped just two days before the start, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Curling Federation then cancelled the ’21 event, set for Switzerland, just two weeks before the Manitobans began defence of their Scotties crown as Team Canada, inside the Calgary bubble.

Einarson beat Ottawa’s Rachel Homan in the national final on Feb. 28. Five days later, the WCF and Curling Canada announced the world championship had been added to a long list of events in the Alberta hub city.

“It felt amazing to step on to the ice, finally getting this opportunity to play on the world stage,” Einarson said.

In addition to the Scotties title, Einarson earned the Canadian mixed doubles title with Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., on March 25, and then guided her regular team to the Players’ Championship, a Grand Slam of Curling tour event last Sunday.

Hasselborg had some early struggles but scored a crucial deuce in the sixth end to gain a spark. The 32-year-old skip and new mom then made perfect come-around draws with her final stones in each of the last two ends to apply pressure.

“I definitely take the team spirit and communication from this win, and that is something that definitely builds some confidence and a great feeling within a team that we can help each other get that win,” she said.

Hasselborg, comes in as the top-ranked team in the world, but is searching for her first world women’s title after losing the 2018 final to Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones and the ’19 final to Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland.

Canadian curling hall-of-famer Wayne Middaugh, who skipped Glenn Howard’s team at the recent Brier, is coaching the Swedish team.

“I love to tell this because he is amazing. He is a great strategist and he brings a lot of confidence. He’s always up for talking curling, constantly communicating about different shots, different strategies,” said Hasselborg. “He’s one of those guys that when you have Wayne in your back, everything seems possible.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell