(Heather Smith-Dacey – photograph by Andrew Klaver)
This is one to remember . . . down the road at the Scotties Tournament Of Hearts. It’ll be a trivia question soon enough: Name the first provincial champion ever to win a bronze-medal playoff match at the Scotties.
The answer: Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith-Dacey.
Yep, Sunday’s bronze-medal tiff was a first in Canadian curling history. Never before have they staged a particular fixture to decide third place at the Canadian women’s championship.
In the early days, there were playoffs for runnerup status: A three-way joust in 1961 and two-way debates in 1963 and 1964. But nothing in the way of tilts to decided second- or third-place since. Until Sunday.
“We learned something from having played them (Ontario) just yesterday,” said Smith-Dacey following her team’s 9-5 conquest of Ontario’ Rachel Homan.
“We wanted to try to keep her away from being able to play those big-weight shots she plays so well and try to force a more finesse, soft-weight game. I think we succeeded. We played much better — we made a lot more shots.”
Smith-Dacey also admitted it would have been tougher for her team had the tables been reversed in the Page Three-Four game Saturday.
“They had to go on to the semi last night, play an extra game, and it wasn’t going to be easy to get up for this one,” she said.
“I think it probably was a lot tougher for them to get up for this than it was for us.”
Homan suggested her team wasn’t in top form.
“We didn’t play very well. But all I want to think about now is coming back here next year. We’ll take some things away from this experience. Hopefully, it will make us better.”