MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Kaitlyn Lawes is one step closer to her goal of winning the Scotties Tournament of Hearts for the first time as a skip.
Her Manitoba team narrowly beat Nova Scotia’s Team Christina Black in an 8-6 thriller on Friday to advance into the Page 1-2 game on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
“It feels amazing, it’s been a goal of ours ever since the (Olympic) trials to try and win a Scotties,” said Lawes in an interview after the game. “We’re putting ourselves in a position to have that potential opportunity.”
Lawes' big shot in the ninth end set her up to win the game in the 10th.
Tied 6-6, Black thought she was sitting pretty to get the force with two rocks on opposite sides of the rings, but Lawes made a remarkable double takeout while rolling out to get the blank and keep the all-important hammer going into the 10th end.
“It was a great team shot,” said Lawes, who has one Scotties title as a third for Jennifer Jones in 2015.
“Obviously, loved to make the blank, but we figured it was worth the risk, even if we didn’t make it, I liked our chances of getting a deuce. So I figured it was one of those that it was worth a try, and (third) Selena (Njegovan) called it perfectly.”
The hammer proved important for Lawes in the 10th as she had to make a takeout on Black’s stone without jamming it on her own in the back four-foot. Lawes relied on Njegovan to help out with the winning shot.
“Selena saw the angles really well and (Lawes) let her kind of make and call that, and really excited that we were able to hang in there against a great team,” Lawes said.
Lawes will be facing a familiar foe in the Page 1-2 game, with Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson beating the third Manitoba team in the playoffs, Beth Peterson, 8-5 in the other Page 1-2 qualifier on Friday.
For Einarson, the key moment was in the third end.
On Einarson’s final shot, she attempted to draw for two, but after the team quickly communicated the rock was heavy, veteran third Val Sweeting elected to call an audible and play a tick on a guard that ended up scoring two to take a 3-1 lead.
“Yeah, I think we got a little fortunate on my little wick and roll in for two. You know, we have a lot of those against us, so when we get them, we'll take them,” said Einarson, a four-time Scotties champion.
"As soon as it was running, I was like, OK, we could play the wick, and then Val called it. I was like, Yes, it's perfect. So, yeah, it was a good audible.”
Einarson is 11-4 against Lawes all-time, per CurlingZone, so Lawes knows it’s going to be a major challenge.
“I’ve played against Kerri for years and we know that it’s going to be a great battle, and we’ll have to bring our best game against them,” said Lawes.
The winner of Saturday’s Page 1-2 game earns a berth in Sunday’s final.
Nova Scotia’s Taylour Stevens will face Black, while Alberta’s Selena Sturmay will meet Peterson in Friday night’s Page 3-4 qualifiers. The winners advance to Saturday’s Page 3-4 game, while the losers will be eliminated.
Saturday’s Page 3-4 winner goes to Sunday’s semifinal against the Einarson-Lawes loser.
The winner of Sunday’s final will represent Canada at the world women’s curling championship in March in Calgary.
Meanwhile, the Scotties named its all-star teams on Friday:
First all-star team
Skip: Kelsey Calvert (Team Peterson, Manitoba)
Third: Selena Njegovan (Team Lawes, Manitoba)
Second: Michaela Robert (Team Armstrong, Ontario)
Lead: Karlee Burgess (Team Einarson, Canada)
Second all-star team
Skip: Kerri Einarson (Team Canada)
Third: Danielle Schmiemann (Team Sturmay, Alberta)
Second: Laura Walker (Team Lawes, Manitoba)
Lead: Sarah Potts (Team Scharf, Northern Ontario)
Alberta skip Kayla Skrlik was named winner of the Marj Mitchell Sportsmanship Award.
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