(by Fred Rinne). For Island skipper Kim Dolan, who announced that this afternoon’s game was her last in competitive curling, it was an emotional afternoon.
“It’s a great way to go out,” she said.
“It would have been nice to have a few more through the week, we had great games and my team played well.”
What will the chair of last year’s Scotties remember most fondly about her years of competitive curling?
“It’s the people and the curlers and certainly, beyond most, it’s my teammates and all the teammates I have had over the years, just the friendships across this country,” says Dolan.
“I don’t think there’s any place you’d rather be than being one of the curlers knowing those other curlers.”
So is this really it for Dolan? Can she stay away from the Charlottetown Curling Club for very long?
“There’s always things to be done,” she laughs.
“I’ve spent a lot of years, curling’s been great to me, maybe it’s time to take a little rest from that,” she reflects.
“You never knows what comes up, I never like to say I’m completely out of everything, but last year was a big year (hosting), this year was a big year with winning, and I think it’s time to take a rest for a little while.”
P.E.I. finished with a 3-8 record.
Draw 16 Thursday afternoon at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was expected to answer some questions of separation in the standings, and it did just that.
Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones controlled most of her game against Quebec’s Marie-France Larouche in what could be a preview of the 1-2 Page playoff game Friday night.
Larouche came into the draw as the hottest team on ice, on a five-game roll, but Jones scored one, stole one, and after giving up a deuce for a 3-3 tie heading into four, her crew controlled the board the rest of the way for a comfy 7-4 win.
Clinching first, especially against the hottest team in the field was satisfying for Jones.
“We’re just happy to make the playoffs, we know we’re in,” says Jones.
Larouche, meanwhile, finishes the round-robin at 7-4 and will have to wait and see what happens when B.C.’s Kelly Scott takes on New Brunswick. A win by Scott punches her ticket to the 1-2 game.
A loss, depending on what Alberta’s Heather Nedohin does against Nova Scotia, and what Amber Holland’s Canadian crew does against Saskatchewan, could bring tiebreakers into play.
Manitoba, B.C. and Quebec have clinched more play, Canada and Alberta can do the same with wins, at least tie-breakers.
Saskatchewan’s Michelle Englot was officially eliminated after dropping a 7-4 decision to the resilient Territorial team of Kerry Galusha.
Saskatchewan rolls into spoiler mode tonight against provincial rivals Holland (Team Canada).
Galusha finishes a long, hard week (team illness) at 7-4, while Englot sits at 4-6.
Nova Scotia was also officially eliminated with a 10-5 loss to Heather Strong of Newfoundland, again the Rock rockers played spoiler.
Heather Smith-Dacey’s team drops to 4-6, while Strong ends the week 4-7.
New Brunswick clings to a thin tiebreaker hope after getting hammered 11-4 by Prince Edward Island. The loss drops the Loyalists to 5-5, and they will need all sorts of help.
Rebecca Atkinson’s team needs Canada and Alberta to lose tonight, and they will need to beat Scott’s B.C. crew to create a three-way tie at 6-5. Any other scenario sees them out.