All-Manitoba matchup in 1-2 playoff
Jones vs. Wild Card, Einarson, today for berth in Scotties’ final
PENTICTON — A wild ride for Wild Card entry Kerri Einarson continues at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Einarson’s team from East St. Paul, Man., has earned top spot in the playoff round of the Canadian women’s curling championship with a 9-2 record after defeating Alberta’s Casey Scheidegger 6-4 at the South Okanagan Events Centre on Friday evening.
That sets Team Wild Card up for a meeting against Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones in the Page 1-2 playoff today. Team Northern Ontario’s Tracy Fleury (8-3) will play Nova Scotia’s Mary-Anne Arsenault (9-2) in the Page 3-4 playoff.
“It’s awesome, I’m ecstatic . . . I’ve got goose bumps all over,” said Einarson.
Trailing 5-4, Scheidegger had a chance with last rock to even the game, but after bumping the Wild Card stones, her rock slid too far for a steal of one.
“I knew she was heavy out of her hand and I was like ‘Oh, please don’t curl’ and I was just sitting there watching the line and she was just that bit heavy,” Einarson relayed.
The Wild Card skip said that match was good preparation for what they will see moving forward.
“We had a couple of misses, we can’t afford that against Jones,” said Einarson. “We definitely have to be a lot more sharper.”
Team Manitoba (9-2) secured second place with a 10-4 win over Team Canada’s Michelle Englot (6-5) in eight ends. Jones is chasing her sixth Scotties title.