Tough opening night

Hometown favourite Northern Ontario falls short in 2025 Scotties opener

It’s a long week, and that’s what Krista McCarville and her Thunder Bay, Ont., team will be keeping firmly in mind after a disappointing opening game at the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

With a boisterous near-capacity crowd in the Fort William Gardens cheering on the Northern Ontario champs, it was Saskatchewan’s Team Nancy Martin from Saskatoon that was able to silence the fans en route to an impressive 10-6 win.

Playing against a team that has captivated Thunder Bay leading into the Scotties may have been a tough assignment for some, but Martin, third Chaelynn Stewart, second Kadriana Lott, lead/vice-skip Deanna Doig, alternate Colleen Ackerman and coach Sherry Anderson looked thoroughly comfortable and at home under the bright lights and intense glare of the opening night of the 2025 Scotties.

“I was pumped,” said Martin of her reaction when the schedule was released and she saw her opening-night assignment. “I’m like, this crowd is going to carry us through the entire week. Cheering for her every time she made a shot —  wow, that was so fun.”

Saskatchewan jumped out into a 5-1 lead through four ends and then fought off a spirited Northern Ontario comeback to hang on for the win.

“We just went with where we came off of from our win at provincials,” said Martin, who got her team off to a terrific start with a wonderful split to score three in the second end, and then adding a fourth-end deuce after forcing the home team to a single in the third. “The girls just trust me and we just go for it. We got a couple of lucky breaks, obviously; you need to get that to win a game. But we put some pressure on and put some rocks in play, which is what we love. We had a great time out there.”

McCarville, backed up by vice-skip Andrea Kelly, second Kendra Lilly, lead Ashley Sippala, alternate Sarah Potts and coach Rick Lang fought her way back with deuces in the fifth and seventh ends while forcing Saskatchewan to singles in the sixth and eighth.

But in a pivotal ninth, McCarville’s last-shot open hit to score a game-tying pair overcurled, and her shooter rolled too far and Northern Ontario settled for one, giving Saskatchewan the coveted one-point lead and the hammer coming home in the 10th.

Martin sealed the deal with an open takeout to score three.

“I mean obviously you don’t want to lose; you want to win your first game,” said McCarville. “But we struggled in the first half. We picked it up in the second half, so that’s what we have to focus on.”

It doesn’t get any easier as Northern Ontario is back on the ice Saturday night in a showdown against the reigning Scotties and world champions Team Canada, skipped by Rachel Homan. 

“We obviously just want to make sure that we pick it up,” said McCarville. “Pick up a little faster on the ice and make sure that we can just feel the ice and feel our draw weight and go out there and just try our best.”

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, will wake up Saturday morning feeling the glow of a thoroughly satisfying opening night in Thunder Bay, that, it was suggested to Martin, may have made a statement about her team.

“I don’t think we need to make a statement,” she replied with a smile. “I think we just came to play and we had a great time out there. It was so fun.”

In other opening-night games, Team Canada (Ottawa) turned back Prince Edward Island’s Team Jane DiCarlo (Crapaud)13-4; Team Alberta-Skrlik, skipped by Kayla Skrlik (Calgary) scored back-to-back deuces in the third and fourth ends in an 8-4 win over New Brunswick’s Team Melissa Adams (Fredericton); and B.C.’s Team Corryn Brown (Kamloops) rolled to an 11-4 win over Team Alberta-Sturmay, skipped by Selena Sturmay (Edmonton).

The 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts continues Saturday with draws at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (all times Eastern).

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/.

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, go to www.curling.ca/2025scotties/tickets/.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2025scotties/nouvelles/?lang=fr