MISSISSAUGA, ONT. — On a night that saw five rookie skips make their debuts at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, four-time winner Kerri Einarson and her teammates warmed up rink-side with a mini volleyball, and then the No. 1 seeds at this national championship destroyed their opening round opponents from the Yukon to the tune of 13-4.
The game required just eight ends for the favourites here at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, where the Manitoba-based Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Karlee Burgess are wearing Team Canada red-and-white thanks to a runner-up finish at the Scotties last year, with defending Canadian champion Team Homan busy preparing for the upcoming Olympics.
Einarson won the Scotties four straight times from 2000 – 2003, and on opening night scored three in the first end against 17th seeded Bayly Scoffin and her crew from the Yukon, and never looked back.
“I’d say it was a good start,” Einarson said, after signing a boatload of autographs for fans. “We put some pressure on them early, and we have some areas to sharpen up in, that’s for sure. But good first game overall.”
The other Manitoba-based crew led by Kaitlyn Lawes, seeded No. 5, also picked up a win in their opener against B.C.’s Taylor Reese-Hansen and her team of Scotties first-timers, who are seeded fourth.
Lawes, the two-time Olympic gold medallist and former long-time third for Jennifer Jones, got off to quite the start after Reese-Hansen missed a takeout, allowing the Winnipeg skipper to score three in the first end. That teed up an eventual 10-4 win that saw teams shake hands after eight ends.
“We knew that if we got a lead early that they’re a fighting team and they were going to have the ability to come back, so we just wanted to learn what the ice was doing, learn what the rocks are doing and really just have a patient game,” said Lawes, who won the Scotties back in 2015. “I’m really proud of the girls. I thought we were very patient and took advantage of opportunities when we had them.”
Lawes, third Selena Njegovan, second Laura Walker (she’s slotting in for Olympic-bound Jocelyn Peterman, who’s competing in mixed doubles in Italy) and lead Kristin Gordon curled 89 per cent as a team in their win on opening night.
“One game at a time,” Lawes said, before she sped off to hug her daughters, one-year-old Ella and three-year-old Myla, who were in the crowd and managed to stay awake long enough to congratulate their mom on her victory.
While Lawes is competing at the Scotties for the 11th time and Einarson for the 10th, it’s a first-ever for a lot of players here, including the B.C. team of Reese-Hansen, Megan McGillivray, Kim Bonneau and Julianna Mackenzie.
Reese-Hansen said she felt nerves during practice Friday morning, and also early on during her matchup against Lawes.
“That was definitely not the start that we were looking for today,” said the B.C. skipper, who beat Team Lawes in their previous match-up, in extra ends. “But honestly I think had we come out and not given up three in the first end, maybe that would’ve gone a different way. We definitely let the momentum swing their way a little too early. But by the end of it, I think we really found draw weight and, you know, connecting on those run backs is really important to us, and that didn’t happen today.”
Reese-Hansen looks forward to a day off Saturday for “a reset,” as she put it, before her team gets back into game play in what is a very long event. There are 18 teams in the field, playoffs don’t start until next Friday, and on Feb. 1 one team will emerge as the winners and get to represent Canada at the world championships in March.
So, there’s a lot of curling to go. And though Team B.C. didn’t come away with a win, they’ll certainly remember their Scotties debut.
“Obviously it didn’t go our way,” Reese-Hansen said. “But also, if we could’ve dreamt up a dream scenario for our first game at the Scotties, what better opportunity than playing a two-time [Olympic] gold medallist, feature game, you know?
“Like Friday night lights, right?”
