Two tiebreakers kick off Scotties playoffs at 11:30am ET on TSN
Published
A pair of tiebreakers will determine the fifth and sixth entries into the playoffs at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Friday.
Nova Scotia's Christina Black faces Kaitlyn Lawes's Wild Card 1 team in TSN’s featured game, while Quebec's Laurie St-Georges takes on B.C.'s Clancy Grandy in the other.
Canada’s Kerri Einarson (8-0), Northern Ontario's Krista McCarville (7-1), Manitoba's Jennifer Jones (7-1) and Ontario's Rachel Homan (6-2) have secured the other four playoff spots in Kamloops.
"I think this is the strongest field we've ever had and I've ever seen," said three-time Scotties champion Homan. "It's awesome to go out there and have to play your best every game. That's what a nationals should be."
Three of the four teams in Friday’s tiebreakers won on Thursday to force a four-way tie below Canada in Pool A. Black’s Nova Scotia rink (5-3) beat St-Georges Quebec rink 7-6 on Thursday to force the tiebreak, with Black snatching the victory by stealing a point in the 10th end when St-Georges's attempted draw for the win was light.
Lawes WC1 rink (5-3) beat Suzanne Birt’s PEI rink 10-6, while Grandy’s British Columbia rink (5-3) beat Kayla Skrlik’s Alberta rink 8-6.
The winners of the two tiebreakers will play Manitoba and Ontario in the playoffs, while the losing teams will be eliminated. The winners of the afternoon playoff slate will move on to play Einarson and McCarville, who earned byes to the finals of Friday’s playoff round, in the evening draw.
McCarville earned Pool B’s bye over Jones due to their head-to-head win in the tournament’s opening draw.
Einarson and her rink are looking to become the first team to win four consecutive Scotties titles since Colleen Jones from 2001-04. However, the group from Gimli Curling Club in Manitoba has been unable to bring home gold at the World Championships, winning a bronze medal in 2022, and placing sixth in 2021, while the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have some unfinished business to take care of," Einarson said. "We want to get back to worlds and bring home a gold medal for Canada."