Manitoba wins finale to clinch top playoff seed
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Michelle Englot was recruited precisely for this situation.
Short on previous playoff experience at the Canadian women’s curling championship, Manitoba will lean on a woman who has been there, done that.
The Manitobans claimed the top playoff seed by beating Ontario’s Rachel Homan 9-5 on Thursday night.
Both 10-1 to conclude their preliminary rounds, Englot and Homan meet again tonight in a playoff game.
“We’re playing them again. Fun times,” Englot said.
The winner goes directly to Sunday’s final, while the loser must win Saturday’s semifinal to gain another rematch.
Defending champion Chelsea Carey, 8-2, gained a playoff spot with a game remaining against Alberta.
Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville, 7-3, needs a win over Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories this morning to get into the final four. A loss drops her into a tiebreaker with Quebec’s Eve Belisle (7-4).
The winner of Saturday afternoon’s playoff between Carey and the team to be determined advances to the semifinal.
Manitoba third Kate Cameron, 25, is making her Hearts debut in St. Catharines.
Front end Leslie Wilson, 37, and Raunora Westcott, 40, played in it for Cathy OvertonClapham in 2011 and Jill Thurston in 2010.
The closest Wilson and Westcott came to playoffs was losing a tiebreaker in 2010. Englot, 53, skipped Saskatchewan to the playoffs twice in seven appearances. She finished third in 1988 and 1989.
“Back in ’88 and ’89, we didn’t really realize how big this is,” Englot said. “Now, we know how big this is, but yet, in the same breath, we need to stay the course, stay relaxed and stay focused.”
The Regina resident — Curling Canada allows each team to have one out-of-province member — did that in the preliminary round. “She’s patient, she’s calm,” Cameron said. “If I miss a shot, she’s ‘No worries Kate.’ There’s no anger.
“I’m more of a fiery player than she is, so for each other we bring out the best in that way. She can really guide my team to stay calm in those high-pressure situations.”
Englot knows from experience how difficult it is to win your province and get to the Canadian championship. She’s revelled in her new team’s performance both in Manitoba playdowns and in St. Catharines.
“This has been a really fantastic fairy tale year,” the skip said. “This year has been more exciting for me just because I know the team is super-talented and we have the opportunity to be at the top.
“We know if we play well we can definitely compete with any team in the world, so we’re looking forward to the playoffs.”
Manitoba dominated Ontario in the roundrobin finale for both teams, scoring four in the first end and stealing singles in the fourth and fifth to open up a 7-2 lead.
The Winnipeg rink then threw big-weight hits to defend that lead.
“Teams have been coming (back) from deficits all week long,” Englot said. “Every point counts against a team like Rachel Homan.
“We just wanted to keep counting when we had hammer and make sure we didn’t give up any steals to get into any trouble.”
Ice crews played catch-up Thursday because of double-digit temperatures and high humidity outside, plus a dehumidifier malfunction the previous day.
They took the unusual step of scraping and pebbling at the fifth-end breaks of all three draws. Frost buildup forces teams to play more hits and fewer finesse draws.
“Ice isn’t great right now,” Homan said. “They’re working on it and it’s getting better. We’ll get all the humidity out. I’m sure it’s going to be awesome (today).”