Title time
Dolan, Birt meet for third time in three days this morning with berth at nationals on the line
Teams skipped by Kim Dolan and Suzanne Birt meet in today’s P.E.I. Scotties Tournament of Hearts final at 10 a.m. at the Montague Curling Rink.
The Charlottetown Curling Complex rinks met in the A and B final of the modified triple-knockout championship with Birt winning 8-5 and 10-4. Lisa Jackson handed the Birt team their first loss (8-5) in the C semifinal Sunday afternoon and Dolan defeated Jackson 75 in Sunday night’s C final.
“I think they’re a great team and I think I have a great team,” Dolan said Sunday night. “Two teams are going to mix it up for the third time and we’ll see what happens.”
If Birt’s team wins the 10 a.m. draw they will be declared champions, while a loss would force a 3 p.m. winner-take-all contest.
“It’s basically one game at a time and one end at a time,” Dolan said. “You have to play right in the moment.”
That knowledge paid dividends in Sunday night’s final after falling behind 3-0 after the first end.
“We got off to a little bit of a rocky start there and we just had to put our heads down, dig deep and go and play like we know we can,” Dolan said. “That’s exactly what happened.”
They had a chance for a double in the second but Dolan was heavy and they only scored one. With a lot of rocks in play in the third, Jackson missed a shot and Dolan scored a deuce to tie it. Dolan stole a single in the fourth to go up 4-3.
The teams traded singles the next two ends before Jackson tied it with a single in the eighth. Dolan scored a deuce in the ninth to win it.
Today’s winner will represent Prince Edward Island at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts Feb. 20 to 28 in Grande Prairie, Alta.
Dolan’s team includes third Rebecca Jean MacDonald, second Sinead Dolan, lead Michala Robison and alternate Jackie Reid.
Birt’s rink is comprised of third Robyn Green, second Meaghan Hughes, lead Marie Christianson and coach Danny Christianson.
Dolan has won nine provincial Scotties, including three as third for teams skipped by MacDonald. Birt has skipped seven teams to the title.