Jones and Einarson barrelling along at Scotties

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This article was published 21/02/2020 (2223 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. — It was six years to the day since the golden moment. Six years since Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Officer and Dawn McEwen completed their perfect run to the Olympic title. Six years since a dream was made history and, as Lawes told reporters, it’s hard to believe it’s been so long already. 

Well, they certainly know how to mark the anniversary. Because on Thursday night, still with two games left in the championship round of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship, Jennifer Jones and her Team Wild Card clinched a playoff berth. The deal was sealed by their decisive 8-3 victory over Saskatchewan’s Robyn Silvernagle (5-4), which lifted Jones’ squad to 8-1.

That win came on the heels of their 10-5, eight-end afternoon trouncing of the defending champion, Team Canada’s Chelsea Carey.

“I feel like we had a really good day today,” Jones said after the evening game. “We played well and made some big shots when we had to, and made some really precise shots, which is what you want to do. So big day tomorrow, but all in all, really good day today.” 

They weren’t the only ones to clinch, not even from their own province. Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson (8-1) also locked up her spot with a 9-4 victory over Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Birt (5-4), and is perfectly poised to make a run at the 1-vs-2 Page playoff game. 

“It felt good to come out with two solid wins today,” Einarson said. “The team played really well.” 

Earlier in the day, Einarson cruised to an 8-4 win against British Columbia’s Corryn Brown (4-5). The Manitoba rink, which includes third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Brianne Meilleur, has been sensational all week, their lone stumble being an odd upset by New Brunswick, who put up a Scotties record seven-ender. 

They haven’t thought about that since it happened. They chucked it out of their minds, and never looked back. 

“What seven?” Einarson said, then laughed. 

Adding to the confirmed playoff picture, Rachel Homan (8-1), the Ontario dynamo gunning for her fourth Canadian championship, also clinched with a decisive 8-3 win over Team Canada. With the loss, Carey slipped to 4-5, but though her hopes at the playoffs are hanging by a thread, they aren’t quite done yet. 

Rounding out the championship pool is Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville, who rose to 6-3 with a win over B.C. 

It’s too early to say where Einarson, Jones and Homan will land in Saturday’s Page playoffs — or who will be the fourth and final team to join them on the weekend. That remains to be determined by today’s two draws, where teams already in will battle to see who lands in the prized 1-vs-2 game, and who slides to the 3-vs-4. 

Now comes a game that, especially for Manitoba fans, might be one of the most hotly anticipated of the week. This afternoon, Einarson and Jones will go head to head in a rematch of their roller-coaster provincial final. That time, Einarson won — but with both teams looking sharp to end the week, fireworks could fly again. 

The championship round will wrap up with the 6:30 p.m. games when Einarson will go up against Homan and Jones will face Northern Ontario. Both draws will be broadcast live on TSN. 

Whatever happens today, Jones is at most three wins away from what would be her record-setting seventh Canadian championship. Sometimes, she said, the team can get a sense of how they’re settling in, and despite playing in quite a few nailbiters through the round robin, right now they are flying. 

“You usually get more of a feeling early in the week how you’re doing, and I felt like we were in a really good spot,” Jones said. “Really good spot heading into the event. I thought that we were trending well and in the right direction. We couldn’t ask to be in a better position than we are right now.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca