CRANBROOK, B.C. — Jennifer Jones has jumped up to a 2-0 record at the Tour Challenge.
The reigning Olympic champ from Winnipeg picked up a dicey 5-4 extra-end win over Switzerland’s Alina Paetz during Draw 6 action Thursday morning.
Jones had the hammer coming home up one and, while facing a triangle of counters, hit the shot rock but rolled just an inch too far giving up a steal to force the decisive extra frame.
Jennifer Jones hits & rolls just an inch too far, Alina Paetz steals in 8th to tie it 4-4 & force an extra! #GSOC #TourChallenge #curling pic.twitter.com/AkvSyMmo4a
— Grand Slam Curling (@grandslamcurl) November 10, 2016
She didn’t need to throw the final stone of the game in the extra, however, as she already held shot rock and Paetz wasn’t able to knock it with her last.
Alina Paetz can't steal again, Jennifer Jones wins 5-4 in an extra end! #GSOC #TourChallenge #curling pic.twitter.com/MdwJJW4Kua
— Grand Slam Curling (@grandslamcurl) November 10, 2016
“We just got a little unfortunate in the eighth,” Team Jones lead Dawn McEwen said. “Jenn’s rock just rolled a hair too far. We’re improving game-by-game. It was a little bit better but we’ll have to be even better in the next game.”
Jones didn’t have hammer to start, but it didn’t matter as she stole singles in the first two ends to open with a 2-0 lead.
Paetz erased the deficit taking two in the third to tie it.
Jones was forced to one in the fourth and reclaimed the two-point advantage in five as Paetz was light on her raise attempt and couldn’t outscore the buried counter. Paetz fell to a 0-2 record and needs a quick turnaround in order to stay in contention.
Team Jones is still figuring out the ice and new rocks at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament with two more round-robin games to go.
“We’re still feeling it out, new rocks, so we’re just doing our best with them,” McEwen said. “So far, so good.”
It was a rematch of the 2015 world championship final where Paetz topped Jones to capture the title.
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Meanwhile, Ottawa’s Rachel Homan hammered Edmonton’s Kelsey Rocque 7-1 in just six ends.
Rocque opened with the hammer, but it was Homan who rolled out to a six-point advantage swiping pairs of points through the first three ends. Rocque was limited to just a single in the fourth, Homan blanked five and tacked on a single in six to bring out the early handshakes.
Homan climbed up to a 2-0 record while Rocque fell to 1-2 and needs to win her last round-robin game to stay in the mix for playoffs.
Team Homan, winners of three Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling titles last season, finished runner-up during the season-opening WFG Masters just over a week ago in Okotoks, Alta.
The thievery to start continued in the men’s game as Scotland’s Kyle Smith swiped a 6-1 victory to get his first win of the tournament over Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers (2-1).
Smith (1-1) stole two in the second and another pair in the fourth end. Carruthers, who blanked the first and third ends, settled for a single in five and shook hands after Smith took two in the sixth end.
NOTES: The Tour Challenge is the second of seven events on the 2016-17 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule. … Allison Flaxey of Caledon, Ont., and Sweden’s Niklas Edin were both first-time Grand Slam winners in the first leg, the WFG Masters, capturing their titles Oct. 30 in Okotoks, Alta. … Tour Challenge action continues Thursday at 1 p.m. MT with TV coverage on Sportsnet and online/mobile on Sportsnet NOW. … The Tour Challenge runs through to Sunday at Western Financial Place (all Tier 1 games and Tier 2 finals) and Memorial Arena (Tier 2 games from round-robin play to semifinals).
