Alberta Strong!

Being the ‘home team’ at a major national curling event has its benefits, but there can be a serious downside, too. 

The stakes are high and carrying the hopes of an entire province can be daunting. 

If Team Alberta’s Selena Sturmay (1-0, Edmonton) felt any of that external pressure it wasn’t evident Friday as she skipped her young sharpshooters to a surprising 7-5 win over Team Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes (0-1, Winnipeg) in one of four opening games in Pool A to kick off the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts at the WinSport Event Centre in Calgary. 

The Team Alberta win was somewhat surprising, given the circumstances. Sturmay and Co. — vice-skip Danielle Schmiemann, second Dezaray Hawes, lead Paige Papley and coached by Ted Appelman — are basically Scotties rookies. Hawes is the only member of the team with any Scotties experience, having played second for Team British Columbia at the 2020 and ’21 Hearts. 

Team Manitoba, on the other hand, is loaded, and skipped by one of the most decorated players in the country. 

So obviously the bright lights and TV cameras failed to intimidate the Albertans as the 18-team, 10-day Scotties pushed from the hacks. 

“I’d definitely be lying if I said there were no nerves out there,” said Sturmay. “But my team did a great job of keeping us all in check. But the crowd made it a little easier on us and making us feel welcome.” 

It was a battle of former Canadian Under-21 champion skips. Sturmay won the New Holland Canadian Under-21 Championship in 2019, while Lawes claimed back-to-back national U21 titles in 2008 and 2009. 

The Albertans put on a resilient performance and were full measure for the victory. They got out of the blocks quickly, building up a 3-0 lead after three ends, and although Team Manitoba chipped away at the lead, squaring matters 5-5 after eight ends, Sturmay and Co. refused to wilt. They blanked the ninth end and played a super 10th end to shut the door. 

“That steal of two early put us at ease a little more, said Sturmay.  

Lawes took the loss in stride. There is a long way to Tipperary. An entire schedule essentially lays ahead, and the way Lawes sees it, her team out of the Fort Rouge Club — vice-skip Selena Njegovan, second Jocelyn Peterman, lead Kristin MacCuish and coached Connor Njegovan — will get it together soon enough.  

“Giving up a steal early to go down three was not great. But we battled back until the end. Just on the wrong side of the inch,” said Lawes, who won an Olympic gold medal and world championship as third for skip Jennifer Jones, and a second Olympic gold in Mixed Doubles with John Morris. 

Meanwhile, four-time champion Kerri Einarson got off on the right foot in defending her national title, guiding Team Canada (1-0, Gimli) to an 8-2 win over Team Québec (0-1, Dollard-des-Ormeaux/Laval) skipped by Laurie St-Georges who had trouble with her draw weight from the outset. 

 The win is the first step in what Einarson hopes is an unprecedented fifth consecutive Canadian women’s curling championship title. A fifth straight win would break a tie with Nova Scotia’s legendary Colleen Jones of Halifax who also won four in a row (2001-2004). 

In the other opening Pool A slate of games, Scotties veteran Krista McCarville skipped Team Northern Ontario (1-0, Thunder Bay) to a 9-5 win over 2013 Canadian Under-21 champ Corryn Brown and her Team British Columbia – Brown (0-1, Kamloops), and Saskatchewan’s Team Skylar Ackerman (1-0, Saskatoon) posted an 11-8 win over Team Prince Edward Island (0-1, Crapaud), skipped by Jane DiCarlo, in a battle of Scotties rookie skips. 

Team Newfoundland & Labrador, skipped by Stacie Curtis (St. John’s), had the opening bye. 

The scene inside the WinSport Event Centre was a stark departure from the last time the Scotties was held in Calgary in 2021 during the COVID pandemic. Back then, spectators were not permitted to attend and cardboard cutouts replaced them in the seats. This time, an enthusiastic crowd. 

There was also a new-look to the Scotties. Competitors wore sharp tops with the provincial designation displayed in two letters on the back. The look was introduced by Goldline, the official suppliers to Curling Canada. 

The 18 Scotties teams are split into two pools of nine, and will play a complete eight-game round robin. The top three teams in each pool advance to the playoffs where it will be further reduced to a Final Four and a Page playoff system. 

 The final goes Sunday, Feb. 23. 

The 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts continues with draws Saturday at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. (all times Mountain). 

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/. 

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule. 

Broadcast coverage for viewers outside of Canada is available on TSN’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@TSN_Sports. 

For ticket information for the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, go to www.curling.ca/2024scotties/tickets/. 

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2024scotties/nouvelles/?lang=fr