Thomas, Park back in hunt for Olympic mixed curling
The experience — not to mention the success — that Kalynn Park and Charley Thomas bring to the mixed doubles curling scene is enviable: Edmonton’s Park and Calgary’s Thomas won the Canadian championship in 2015, were runners-up in 2014 and placed fourth at last year’s event.
But this week is a first for them and for every other duo competing in Portage la Prairie, Man. It’s an opportunity to represent Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in a curling discipline that will make its debut in South Korea.
With that glimmering goal in the back of their minds, Park and Thomas rebounded from a rough Tuesday at the national trials to win a pair of games on Wednesday and find themselves back in the hunt at 3-2.
“I feel like we played pretty well yesterday, we just had some unfortunate results on our shots,” Thomas, out of the Glencoe Club, said after their 8-7 triumph over Sherry Middaugh and John Epping. “We just knew we had to focus on figuring out the ice as best as we possibly could and that we would be in good shape for both of our games.
“We just had to remind ourselves to go back to what we do best, which is just going out and figuring out the ice and making as many shots as possible based on that.”
That game plan served both curlers well in their two early draws of the day. They defeated Marliese Kasner and Dustin Kalthoff 6-4. Later in the day, they would face a stiff test in Calgary’s Chelsea Carey and Colin Hodgson (2-3).
“I know against Geoff (Walker) and Laura (Crocker, a 9-3 loss), I had three pretty bad misses in a row and it’s bad enough in fourman curling when you have two in a row, but when you have three in a row, it’s tough mentally,” said Thomas, 31. “You have to park it the best you can, but it’s hard.
“You can’t take misses out there hard. You have to throw them out the window and your partner has to understand that, too. If you miss, it’s on to the next shot. Before the event started, we gave ourselves one loss a day. We’re on Day 2 and we have two losses.”
Another Calgary curler enjoying early success at the trials is Jocelyn Peterman, who, along with partner Brett Gallant, is atop Pool A with an unblemished 4-0 record.
Canmore’s John Morris, meanwhile, is teamed with Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes. After the afternoon draw, the two were at 2-2. That came after a 6-3 loss to Val Sweeting and Brad Gushue.
Unlike Park and Thomas, Morris and Lawes — who also had a late draw on Wednesday night — are newbies to this form of curling.
“Our first three games we played really well,” Morris told Curling Canada. “The one challenge with playing for the first time in this is you’re feeling out each other’s releases a bit. It’s just unfortunate that we have to play for the first time at the Olympic trials.
“I’m very fortunate to have a fantastic partner. It’s just that it’s a challenge to build a team dynamic and learn and develop with your partner. You can tell these teams that have played the mixed doubles the last two or three years. They’re maybe not the most skilled curlers out there, but they sure know how to play mixed doubles well together.”
Morris, 39, hopes to be in the mix come the weekend.
“I know that Kaitlyn’s been there before,” said Morris. “She’s a big-game player. Our learning curve has to be quick.”
The women curlers will enjoy a bit of a break before they turn their sights to the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Penticton, B.C., beginning Jan. 27.