Einarson’s crew peaking at right time

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This article was published 24/10/2017 (2880 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — Kerri Einarson’s crew simply refuses to get lost in the shuffle.

And rightly so. The team is the real deal, a point reinforced here over the weekend.

While the Jennifer Jones and Michelle Englot foursomes from Winnipeg receive much of the attention on the provincial curling scene, Einarson and her East St. Paul teammates — third Selena Kaatz, second Liz Fyfe and lead Kristin MacCuish — have worked their way to the upper echelon of women’s curling.

Currently ranked 17th in the world, the Einarson quartet is off to a solid start to an all-important 2017-18 curling season. The team captured a pair of bonspiel titles earlier this fall, lost the final of another and, after a terrific run, finally bowed out of the starry, 32-team Canad Inns Women’s Classic late Sunday afternoon at the Portage Curling Club.

Einarson lost to a red-hot Anna Hasselborg of Sweden — a team bound for the Winter Olympics — by a 6-2 count in one of two semifinals, finishing the weekend with a 6-3 record. Along the way, the 2016 Manitoba women’s champion got the best of Scotland’s Eve Muirhead, a former world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, and also beat former Canadian Scotties champion Chelsea Carey of Calgary and longtime Scotties contender Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont.

The 30-year-old skipper said they’re firing on all cylinders against all-world foes — and their timing couldn’t be better.

In two weeks, Einarson joins 13 other women teams in Summerside, P.E.I., for the Road to the Roar Canadian Olympic pre-trials. From there, a pair of squads advance to the Olympic trials in Ottawa less than a month later. The winner in Ottawa gets the dream gig — the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Einarson won’t even entertain the notion of donning Canadian colours in February. For now, she’s just happy with the shape of their game as they prepare for the journey.

“You definitely want to peak at the right time and I think we’re just getting there,” said Einarson, a Gimli resident and mom of twin girls. “We’ve faced a lot of big-name teams and you definitely have to come out and play your best. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

Einarson earned a spot in Summerside (Nov. 6-12) based on Canadian Team Ranking System points the team accumulated since the start of the 2014-15 season. A provincial title and fourth-place finish at the national Scotties in Grande Prairie, Alta., two years ago beefed up their point total, but, most importantly, it affirmed the confidence they had in themselves as top-tier competitors.

“I think we always knew we could do it. But you get that experience of being in the spotlight, so it relaxed us,” Einarson said. “It definitely helps with the nerves when you’ve been through something like that.”

Jones, the 2014 Olympic gold medallist, former world champion and five-time Canadian champion, and Englot, the reigning Manitoba Scotties winner who lost the national final to Rachel Homan of Ontario, have secured spots in the trials in Ottawa, set for Dec. 2-10.

Einarson is one of four Manitoba teams hoping to join them. Shannon Birchard of St. Vital, Briane Meilleur of Fort Rouge and Darcy Robertson of Assiniboine Memorial will all compete in Summerside.

Kaatz, 25, who lives in Beausejour, said the Manitoba flavour only adds to the excitement of the pre-trials event.

“We’re really grateful to be in the pre-trials. Manitoba is a super-strong province and there’s a few of us going, so it’s great,” she said. “The season’s gone really well for us. It’s really good to play these tough teams because you really have to step up your game and play well. We’re trying to bring our best every game.

“We’ve worked really hard these past couple of years to get to where we are. We started quite a bit lower in the ranks and worked super, super hard to get here, and I’m just really proud of our team and the way we’ve jelled.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @WFPJasonBell