Team Canada wins the battle of Ontario in Draw 3 at the Scotties
A confident, relaxed Team Canada appears to be picking up right where they left off last year in Kingston. On Sunday morning at the Maurice-Richard Arena in Montreal, Rachel Homan and crew controlled play throughout a 9-3 win over provincial rival Ontario at the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
“The team’s playing really well, we’re learning the ice, and we’re just learning how to play out here,” said Homan after the lopsided eight-end victory over Allison Flaxey. “It’s the Scotties. It’s always a fun week, and it’s fun with the fans as well. Our friends and family are going to come down. It feels good and relaxing.”
Flaxey and her Listowel squad of Katie Cottrill, Lynn Kreviazuk, Morgan Court, alternate Kim Tuck and coach Mort Cooper, just couldn’t get anything going, giving up consecutive steals of three and trailing 7-0 after four ends.
The game featured a sister act: the Kreviazuk sisters Lynn (Ontario) and Alison (Team Canada) faced off against each other at second.
“I was really excited to play her,” said little sister Lynn. “A little unfortunate game – they played really well and we just couldn’t catch up to them, so congrats!”
“It was a lot of fun playing Lynn,” agreed Alison. “We were excited from Day One when I found out she was coming here. They got a few tough breaks, but they played super well.”
The sisters played together in juniors and have another sister, Cheryl, who is making her mark at the university curling level. So who do their parents cheer for?
“Good shots,” says Alison.
In other games, Heather Smith and her Nova Scotia team of Jill Brothers, Blisse Joyce, Teri Lake, alternate Stephanie McVicar and coach Peter Gallant stole nine points in two ends to score for their first win of the tournament, a lopsided 12-2 victory over New Brunswick’s Andrea Crawford.
“We just played really well today,” said Smith. “(We) put the pressure on every end, and unfortunately Andrea couldn’t make the big draws to save, and that resulted in steals.”
“It’s a beautiful venue,” she said. “The ice is fantastic, and I feel like we’ve got a handle on it today.”
Yukon/Northwest Territories’ Sarah Koltun continues to impress with her aggressive play, scoring a decisive 10-3 victory over PEI veteran Kim Dolan in eight ends.
And in a battle of western teams, Manitoba’s Chelsea Carey picked out counter on the button to score two in a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton.
The Scotties continues on Sunday with draws at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (all times EST).
TSN/RDS2, the official broadcaster of the CCA’s Season of Champions, will provide extensive coverage of the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, with 66 hours of live broadcasts scheduled.
The winner of the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will represent Canada at the Ford World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Booster Juice, March 15 to 23 in Saint John, N.B.
The 2014 Scotties marks the 33rd year of Kruger Products Limited’s sponsorship of the Canadian women’s championship.
For ticket information, go to: www.curling.ca/2014scotties-en/tickets/
For schedule information, go to: www.curling.ca/2014scotties-en/draw-schedule/