You Gotta Have Hope!

Team Lawes hanging in there at Scotties despite tough start 

Never say never. 

Or, in the mind of skip Kaitlyn Lawes and her Team Manitoba teammates, nothing is impossible. 

Team Lawes was on the wrong side of the inch in the early part of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary, and some had written off the Winnipeg Fort Rouge team after a woebegone 1-3 start in Pool A action. 

But after an 8-4 win Tuesday over Team British Columbia-Brown (2-3, Kamloops), skipped by Corryn Brown, the Manitobans have new life and a light at the end of the tunnel. Now the improbable job of making the playoffs is starting to look increasingly possible. 

The top three teams in each of Pool A and B advance to the playoffs. 

“Obviously losing a couple of games early was disappointing but we’ve been close in every game,” said Lawes. “For me it was just I missed a few too many. So I kept saying to the girls, hang in there with me and I felt like I had a great game today. 

“The girls are playing great. I feel good so it’s just a matter of getting shots on the right side of the inch.” 

Team Manitoba was handed a big break in the fourth end on Tuesday afternoon when Brown was heavy with her final draw to the four-foot, slipping too far to score and yielding a back-breaking steal of three. Team Manitoba, gifted with a 5-0 lead, made sure it didn’t squander it.  

The victory was more in keeping with what curling fans were expecting from Team Lawes and Co. Lawes is a two-time Olympic gold-medal winner and her team — third Selena Njegovan, second Jocelyn Peterman, lead Kristin MacCuish, and coach Connor Njegovan — are seasoned veterans who have done very well on the tour circuit. 

There is still some heavy lifting to do. Team Lawes has big games against Team Canada and Team Northern Ontario on its schedule, but won’t be intimidated by either of them. 

Peterman said the team is in a good place. 

“We know it’s kind of in our hands and we have to just put our heads down and play well for the rest of the round robin and see what happens,” she said. “But if we play like that in the upcoming games, we know we have a chance. 

“We’ve kind of been in this scenario a few times this year in the Grand Slam events so we seem to be a team that played well with our backs against the well and on our last life so we’re rolling with that. We know we’ve been in this scenario a lot this year and we play well when the pressure’s on. We’re looking to have that positive vibe, positive mojo on our side now.” 

Meanwhile, the rich kept getting richer in Pool A on Tuesday. Team Alberta (5-0, Edmonton), skipped by Selena Sturmay, was relentless in an 8-3 victory over Team Québec (3-2, Glenmore & Laval-sur-le-Lac) skipped by Laurie St-Georges. The Albertans made all eight shots in the first end to score three and cruised to the victory and the top of the Pool A standings. Sturmay shot a sensational 92 per cent in the game. 

Sturmay said the quick lead was important. 

“Early leads settle nerves — that definitively was huge. We knew going into the first end they were going to be aggressive and we were ready to just fire right back. And everything worked out in our favour. 

“My team has been playing amazing. I haven’t really had to make anything crazy on my last (shots). Can’t really give them enough credit.” 

Meanwhile, Skip Kerri Einarson guided Team Canada (5-1, Gimli) to a solid 11-6 win over Team Saskatchewan (3-3, Saskatoon), skipped by Skylar Ackerman. Team Einarson is looking for a record fifth-straight national women’s curling championship. 

In the other game on the afternoon menu, Team Newfoundland & Labrador (1-4, St. John’s) skipped by Stacie Curtis, bounced Team Prince Edward Island (1-5, Crapaud), skipped by Jane DiCarlo, 11-6 in a battle of winless teams. 

Team Northern Ontario (3-2, Thunder Bay), skipped by Krista McCarville, had the Pool A bye. 

The Scotties champion will represent Canada at the 2024 BKT Tires World Women’s Curling Championship in Sydney, N.S., from March 16 to 24. 

The final goes Sunday, Feb. 23. 

The 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts continues with a draw Tuesday at 6:30 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