Playoffs now set at Olympic trials
Vernon team, skipped by Morris, eliminated at 3-5
OTTAWA — Chelsea Carey might want to send a thank-you card to Swiss skip Silvana Tirinzoni.
Tirinzoni brought in Cathy OvertonClapham as a substitute last season due to injury. Overton-Clapham played a few Grand Slam events and was quick to show her Hall of Fame form.
“I just got that fire back in me,” OvertonClapham said.
“Fortunately I got the call from these guys to play with them.”
Carey was looking for a third after Amy Nixon’s retirement and Overton-Clapham fit the bill. She locked in last March and the transition was almost seamless.
Now the Calgary team is just one win away from an Olympic berth after capping a perfect round-robin Friday at the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings.
“We’re having fun, we’re making some shots and we’re getting some W’s along the way,” Overton-Clapham said.
Carey beat Krista McCarville 5-2 in the morning and dumped Winnipeg’s Michelle Englot 10-3 in the afternoon. That left her with an 8-0 record and a berth in Sunday’s final at Canadian Tire Centre.
Ottawa’s Rachel Homan and Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones claimed the other two playoff spots earlier Friday without stepping on the ice. Homan beat Jones 9-4 in the evening to lock up second place at 7-1 and guarantee hammer for the rematch in today’s semifinal.
Calgary’s Kevin Koe (7-1) and Brad Gushue (6-2) had secured the top two men’s seeds before their tuneup game against each other Friday night, a 6-3 decision for Gushue — the St. John’s skip.
The third seed went to Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen, who beat Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher 6-4 in the morning.
McEwen (5-3) took the lead with three points in the eighth end and added a single in the ninth.
Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers could have forced a tiebreaker game with a win in the evening, but he dropped an 8-7 decision to Bottcher in an extra end.
“Without swearing, I would just say it sucks,” Carruthers said. “It’s super-frustrating.”
McEwen will meet Gushue in the men’s semifinal today.
Reigning Olympic champion Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., finished at 3-5, along with John Morris, who was skipping a Vernon-Kelowna rink.