After losing last year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts final to Rachel Homan in an extra-end heartbreaker, Michelle Englot took a swig out of a bottle of Fireball Whisky.

“We battled hard and even though we didn't get the gold the fire still burns inside,” Englot wrote in a Tweet.

It was a good way to reflect on a successful return to the national curling stage and also to visualize the intriguing possibilities of the future, namely victory at the Roar of the Rings Olympic Trials in Ottawa.

“When you get to the point where you lose in the Scotties final in an extra end it definitely motivates you to win something like that,” Englot told TSN.ca in a recent interview.  “We do know that we can compete against the best teams. We just need to put together a consistent run and hopefully things will go our way.”

Winnipeg’s Team Englot will be a top contender at the Olympic trials this week as nine rinks battle it out for the right to represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, in February.

The 53-year-old said it’s been an up-and-down season for her team in 2017-18, just their second year as a foursome. Team Englot (22-20) won the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic in September, but have missed the playoffs in two of three Grand Slam events.

Still, this rink has proven they can compete with the best-of-the-best in their short time together.

At the Canadian championship in St. Catharines last year, Team Englot used their camaraderie to propel them to a 10-1 record and an appearance in the gold-medal game. It was the first Scotties finals appearance of Englot’s career.

 “We took a relaxed approach to the Scotties and we basically built off the momentum that we got going in the provincials,” she said. “I think as a team we all get along really well on and off the ice and that definitely factors in when you have a 10-day event basically where there’s ups and downs and you have to deal with a lot of things, so we stuck together as a team and things really gelled for us.”

Evidence of that off-ice chemistry can be seen in their shared liking for Fireball Whiskey. Englot’s son, Derek, started the tradition last year at the Scotties and the team has continued the trend this season. 

“That was actually my son’s fault,” Englot said with a chuckle. “He is the one who introduced the Fireball. It’s more something we use to relax. We don’t drink a lot of it. It’s like a shot here or there and that’s about it.”

 

Career crossroads

Interestingly, this partnership and friendship may have never happened if Englot wasn’t willing to make a significant change late in her career.

After spending all of her pro curling years in her home province of Saskatchewan, the Regina native got an offer she simply could not refuse in the summer of 2016.

With skip Kristy McDonald taking a break from the game, third Kate Cameron, second Leslie Wilson-Westcott and lead Raunora Westcott needed a new captain to fill out their Winnipeg rink. Aside from a few drinks on tour here and there, they didn’t know Englot very well on a personal level, but were well aware of what she was capable of on the curling rink.

The remaining members called Englot and pitched the idea of a two-year commitment to play with them in Manitoba, with the end goal of reaching the Roar of the Rings in the nation’s capital.

At the time, Englot was at a crossroads in her curling career, but knew it was a change worth making.

“It was kind of at the point in my career where it was making a decision to either to continue to play at a competitive level or to scale it back a bit,” she said. “I had the girls call and ask if I was interested playing with them. It was just an opportunity that was really too good for me to pass up.”

So Englot made the move to the Granite Curling Club in Winnipeg with the hope of getting back on the national curling stage. That goal was achieved last year with her first Scotties appearance since 2012, and she will now look to add to it with her first Olympic trials showing since 2001. Englot narrowly missed the playoffs at those trials with a 5-4 record.   

This could very well be Englot’s last opportunity to represent Canada at the Olympics.

“It is a very significant commitment. I’m just not sure how many more competitive years I do have in me, but we’ll see how this goes and play it by year,” Englot said of her future with the team after this season.

Whatever the future holds, Englot knows the team is in good hands with Cameron in the mix. The 26-year-old broke out as one of the best third’s in the game last year and could be skipping sometime soon, said Englot.

“I think that’s something [skipping] Kate would like to do eventually and she definitely has the talent to do that,” said Englot. “She has a lot more years in her and it will be fun to watch her continue to grow in the sport.”   

Team Englot kick off their Roar of the Rings schedule with a clash against Team Krista McCarville Saturday night at 7pm ET.