(by George Karrys)
The field for the Canadian women’s championship, the Tournament of Hearts, is now set for Red Deer, Alta., from Feb. 18-26 (TSN) and for better or worse, it’s a big slice of same-old.
Event organizers and fans will likely be pleased to see Jennifer Jones (Manitoba), Kelly Scott (B.C.) and Marie-France Larouche (Quebec) making yet another appearance. Michelle Englot (Saskatchewan) and Kim Dolan (P.E.I.) have even more veteran savvy. Last year’s surprise bronze medallists led by Heather Smith-Dacey (Nova Scotia) are a youthful crew with a schooled skipper at the helm. The other Atlantic teams, Newfoundland’s Heather Strong and New Brunswick’s Andrea Kelly, have become synonymous with the championship in recent years.
Heather Nedohin (photo from CCA website)
The host province will be represented by Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin, and one can only guess as to how her team will be received in Red Deer. With Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink and Cheryl Bernard sidelined prior to the Alberta semifinal, Nedohin’s hybrid squad — which features two former Nova Scotians in Beth Iskiw and Laine Peters — offers a breath of fresh air … although this is still another team stacked with veteran experience.
Only Tracy Horgan’s Sudbury, Ont. outfit represents a bonafide breakthrough of youthful exuberance. Of course, once Sherry Middaugh was eliminated in the provincial semifinal, Ontario was guaranteed to be sending some youngsters west.
Horgan played giant-killer in dispatching defending champion Rachel Homan, whose Ottawa foursome — with an average age of just 22 — went 9-0 during the week and led by one, with last rock, coming down to Homan’s final two stones. However, disaster struck. One double-jammed runback later, Horgan made a draw and Homan missed the target to drop a steal of three and hand the Sudbury crew an unlikely victory.
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As befits the wild nature of provincial finals (most of which are played on more unpredictable club facility ice) there were other wild finishes. In Vancouver, Scott lined up a basic peel on her first stone and flashed, giving opponent Marla Mallett an open draw to the button to apply some serious pressure. Mallett missed the rings entirely, and Scott’s draw for the win merely needed to hit the paint.
But no final was more gripping — and wacky — than Jones’ victory in Portage La Prairie.
In a nod to her rampage of last-minute victories on the way to the 2008 world championship crown, Jones needed five straight elimination wins to book her return to Red Deer — and she did it. She did it with second Jill Officer playing competitively for the first time all season, following the birth of her first child — days before the start of the provincial Officer had yet to confirm her status in the starting lineup.