Team Einarson has unfinished business in Sweden

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This article was published 10/03/2023 (1176 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kerri Einarson’s four-time Canadian championship team is already cemented as one of the finest women’s crews in curling history.

But there’s still a box that needs to be checked: winning a gold medal at the international level.

Einarson, third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, and lead Briane Harris will get another crack at it next week when they head to Sandviken, Sweden, for the 2023 World Women’s Curling Championship (March 18-26).

The skip from Camp Morton earned the right to represent Canada on the world stage yet again after defeating Team Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones late last month in Kamloops, B.C., to win the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

“Our No. 1 goal is to bring gold back to Canada. We have some unfinished business to take care of,” Einarson told reporters on a Zoom call Friday. “But we’re going to focus on taking one game at a time and just worry about that. We don’t want to focus too much about the outcome in the end.”

Since the 2020 world championship was cancelled owing to the pandemic, this will be Einarson’s third trip to the event. The 2021 tournament took place in a bubble in Calgary and Einarson finished in sixth. Last year in Prince George, B.C., Einarson made it to the podium but had to settle for bronze.

“We feel prepared. If you can get yourself into the worlds numerous times, you get used to that feeling,” Einarson said.

Einarson’s Team Canada, ranked first in the world, lost just one game all week at the Scotties. However, the pre-worlds favourite is likely Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni, ranked third behind Ontario’s Rachel Homan.

The Swiss skip, who calls the shots but relies on Alina Pätz to throw the final stones, guides the defending three-time world champions.

Tirinzoni’s team does look different this year with new front-end players Carole Howald and Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann — but they’ve still been dominant.

In October, Tirinzoni defeated Einarson 6-3 to win the Grand Slam of Curling’s Boost National in North Bay, Ont. In January, Einarson also lost the Canadian Open Grand Slam final to Japan’s representative, Satsuki Fujisawa.

“We know (Team Switzerland) is strong top to bottom and they work really hard at their game. Obviously, their team change definitely affected some of their dynamics, but we haven’t really seen them skip too much of a beat,” said Birchard.

“We know that Alina is an amazing player and if the team is struggling before her, she’s usually able to stand on her head and pull through a win. We’re going to have to play our best against them.”

Canada opens the 13-team event next Saturday against the hosts, Anna Hasselborg of Sweden. Hasselborg is a two-time finalist at worlds and won Olympic gold in 2018.

“Well, there’s definitely no free spaces on the bingo card at worlds. Everyone’s going to be really tough. To play the host country off the bat, I think it’s going to be exciting. It’s going to bring the energy,” said Sweeting.

“Well, there’s definitely no free spaces on the bingo card at worlds. Everyone’s going to be really tough. To play the host country off the bat, I think it’s going to be exciting. It’s going to bring the energy.”–Val Sweeting

After owning home-ice advantage at the last two world championships, the Einarson squads faces new challenges and opportunities heading overseas. They fly out Sunday to give themselves a few days to adjust to the time difference and their new surroundings.

This won’t be the first big trip this season as they also played in Japan at the Karuizawa International in December.

“There’s other added factors like unfamiliarity with the country and customs and how to get around. So, I think there’s pros and cons to (playing in Canada versus playing overseas),” said Birchard.

“We really enjoyed the home crowd last year, but we’re pretty excited and we’ve got a good cohort of family coming out, so we know that we’re going to have some cheers in the crowd for us, as well. So, I think we’re just going to embrace the new experiences and just enjoy the moment.”

Harris is expecting her first child in June, although the pregnancy didn’t slow her down in Kamloops. She was a sweeping machine and earned a spot on the tournament all-star team. If she can’t play or needs a break, alternate Krysten Karwacki will take her place.

“I’m still feeling really good in practice, which is good. And I’m feeling ready to play. I haven’t felt any different since the Scotties, yet, which is great.”–Briane Harris

“I’m still feeling really good in practice, which is good. And I’m feeling ready to play. I haven’t felt any different since the Scotties, yet, which is great. But I know that things can change, and this being my first pregnancy I don’t really know what can change,” said Harris.

“So, it’s really nice having Krysten there and if anything did go south and I couldn’t play for whatever reason, I really trust her going in for me and playing with the girls, and I know she’d do a really great job. So, there’s that peace of mind, also. But I’m going to try to play the whole thing if I can.”

While capturing gold remains the prime objective, the team has also talked about ensuring they savour every moment of the experience.

“It would mean the world to us to bring gold back to Canada. It hasn’t been done since 2018 so we’re going to give it our all out there and do our absolute best and we’re going to support each other and have each other’s backs no matter what,” said Einarson.

“And also, we’re gonna go out there and have some fun. I know we play our best when we’re out there laughing and just making some curling shots.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31