P.E.I. eliminated from playoff contention

(By Tim Gall)

Kingtson, Ont. – Even had they managed to knock off the strong second-place Ontario squad Friday afternoon, the Suzanne Birt team representing Prince Edward Island would have missed the weekend playoff round at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

Sarah Fullerton, Suzanne Birt, Leslie MacDougall (CCA photo by Andrew Klaver)

The game against Ontario, which entered the contest with an 8-1 record, was rendered meaningless earlier in the day when B.C. won its game – officially ending P.E.I.’s playoff chances.

Birt and her Charlottetown Curling Complex team of Shelly Bradley, Sarah Fullerton, and Leslie MacDougall also got a win in the morning draw to improve to 5-5. The win was an 8-4 decision over Alberta as the Birt team broke a 4-4 deadlock by stealing three points in the eighth. Another stolen point in nine salted the game away.

In the afternoon, the Birt unit couldn’t keep up with Ontario, which scored five in the first two ends and ran away with a 10-2 victory. P.E.I. could only manage single points in the third and sixth ends. Alternate Stefanie Clark got some action in the last part of the game.

Her rink, Birt said, was disappointed to miss the playoff round.

“We had our ups and downs,” the skip said following the loss. “It was a long week, and we were glad to get that fifth win (in the) morning and we played against a tough team this afternoon, so we can’t complain about the results for the week. We would have liked to have done better, but…”

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