(by Danielle Inglis)
Manitoba’s Chelsea Carey is exactly where she wants to be after earning a spot in the 1v2 Page playoff game with a win over P.E.I.’s Kim Dolan this morning at the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal, Quebec.
Chelsea Carey calling line during the final round robin draw (Photo CCA/Andrew Klaver)
Carey and Dolan traded points throughout the game leaving the score tied 4-4 after nine ends. Using the hammer to her advantage in the tenth end, Carey made the hit for the 6-4 victory.
“Early on we just really struggled, myself largely. We just missed easy shots and weren’t able to get sharp early, but got it together for the second half,” said Carey. “Kim Dolan was making everything! We had to patient and manage the scoreboard.”
Carey now advances to the Page 1v2 game against Team Canada’s Rachel Homan. Despite her win during the first round robin game this week, Homan is still only 5-7 against Carey since 2011.
“We couldn’t have more respect for [the Homan team],” said Carey. “They are one of the best teams in the world. We’re going to have to be at the top of our game to have a chance. The style of game they play, if they’re making everything, you probably don’t beat them. You just have to be patient and hope you get a miss or two.”
Homan maintained her undefeated round robin record with a 7-3 win over New Brunswick’s Andrea Crawford. The game was tight until the ninth end when Homan made a difficult soft weight hit with her last to jump ahead and solidify the win. Crawford finished the round robin just outside of the playoffs with a 6-5 record.
Scotties darling Sarah Koltun, skip of Yukon/NWT, stole a point in the 10th end to post a win 6-5 over Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton and end with a 2-9 record. Lawton joins Val Sweeting of Team Alberta with an 8-3 record and will face off against them in the 3v4 Page playoff game.
Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith finished off the round robin with a convincing 7-6 win over Ontario’s Allison Flaxey. Smith’s final record was 4-7 while Flaxey ended her run at 3-8.
The 1v2 Page playoff game with Team Canada against Team Manitoba will kick off tonight at 8:30 p.m. AT at the Maurice Richard Arena. The winner will get a bye to the final on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. AT while the other team will meet the winner of the Page 3v4 game in the semi-final.
The 3v4 game will feature Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton squaring off against Alberta’s Val Sweeting for a spot in the semi-final on Saturday at 5 p.m. AT.
TSN/RDS2, the official broadcaster of the CCA’s Season of Champions, will provide extensive coverage of the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, with 66 hours of live broadcasts scheduled.
The winner of the 2014 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will represent Canada at the Ford World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Booster Juice, March 15 to 23 in Saint John, N.B.
The 2014 Scotties marks the 33rd year of Kruger Products Limited’s sponsorship of the Canadian women’s championship.
For ticket information, go to: www.curling.ca/2014scotties-en/tickets/
For schedule information, go to: www.curling.ca/2014scotties-en/draw-schedule/