OTTAWA — Chelsea Carey beat Krista McCarville 5-2 on Friday morning to lock up the first seed in the women’s draw at the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings.
McCarville was wide and heavy with her final throw of the 10th end to give Carey a deuce and the victory.
Carey, from Calgary, improved to 7-0 in round-robin play and secured a berth in Sunday’s final. McCarville, from Thunder Bay, Ont., fell to 4-3 but still has a chance to reach a tiebreaker game.
The result gave Ottawa’s Rachel Homan (6-1) a playoff berth. She will close out her round-robin schedule on Friday night at Canadian Tire Centre against Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones.
Jones is alone in third place at 5-2. McCarville needs to beat Edmonton’s Val Sweeting in the afternoon and hope that Homan wins to set up a tiebreaker game against Jones.
The top three teams will make the playoffs.
In men’s play, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen beat Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher 6-4. McEwen took the lead with three points in the eighth end and added a single in the ninth.
McEwen improved to 5-3 and secured at least a tiebreaker berth while Bottcher was eliminated from playoff contention.
Calgary’s Kevin Koe (7-0) and Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., have locked up the first two spots in the men’s standings. Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers (4-3) can set up a tiebreaker game against McEwen with a victory over Bottcher in the evening.
Round-robin play wraps up Friday night. If tiebreakers are needed, they will be played Saturday morning.
The semifinals are set for Saturday and the finals are scheduled for Sunday. The winners will represent Canada at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February."
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