Photo (L-R): Michala Robison, Nancy Cameron, Sinead Dolan, Rebecca Jean MacDonald, Kim Dolan
For the first time since 1999, Kim Dolan will be playing in the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts, this time in Red Deer Alberta, from February 18 to 26, and this time with her daughter Sinead at second stone. Dolan won her 9th PEI Scotties tonight with a 6-4 win over the Meaghan Hughes foursome. The veteran team also includes Rebecca Jean MacDonald, a six-time PEI women’s champ, who threw final stones for Dolan when she won in 1995, 1997, and 1999, at third, along with lead Nancy Cameron, who has been on four women’s championship rinks. Michala Robison is the team’s fifth player, and Peter MacDonald was the team’s coach for this event.
Photo (L-R) Stefanie Clark, Jackie Reid, Tricia Affleck, Meaghan Hughes
The Hughes foursome includes third Stefanie Clark, second Jackie Reid, and lead Tricia Affleck, with coaches Rod MacDonald and John Likely.
Photo (L-R) Dolan and MacDonald facing four in the eighth
Tonight’s game was played very conservatively through the sixth end, with the teams tied at two. Dolan took the lead with a triple in seven, and hit her way out of trouble in the eighth, when she was facing four Hughes counters, yet managed to come out of the end with steal of one. Hughes picked up a deuce in the 9th, but Dolan hit everything in sight in the last end, and ran the Hughes rink out of rocks.
Photo: Game over-the Dolan rink run the Hughes team out of rocks
After the game, Dolan remarked that it was great to be back at the Scotties, and especially to have the opportunity to represent PEI at the Canadian women’s championship with her daughter, which would appear to be a first for PEI curling.
Another Scotties veteran, Heather Strong from Newfoundland and Labrador, won her 10th provincial women’s title on the weekend. Amber Holland, who won the Scotties last year here in Charlottetown will be competing as Team Canada. The remainder of the representatives across the country will be determined over the next week.