THUNDER BAY – Rachel Homan will defend her Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship on Sunday night.
The Team Canada skip outdueled fellow four-time national women’s curling champion Kerri Einarson of Manitoba in Saturday night’s 1-2 Page playoff game at Fort William Gardens, her 8-4 triumph landing her a spot in the championship match.
Einarson does have a shot at redemption, but will have to go through Nova Scotia’s Christina Black in Sunday afternoon’s semifinal.
Homan made a big move in the sixth, running her rock through a narrow portal to score a pair, giving her a 4-2 lead. She followed up with a steal of two in the seventh that opened up a four-shot lead, then closed things out with another deuce in the ninth.
Homan admitted she may have mislead her third, Sudbury’s Tracy Fleury, while insisting the shot was there, a reality few in the 74-year-old building agreed with at the time.
Their doubt was short-lived.
“I’ve got the best sweepers and an unreal line-caller. We know how to make those and in big moments, we go for it. It was all sweepers on a lot of our shots today,” Homan said.
The game itself was a nine-end duel between arguably the two best skips, the game ending when Homan made a run-double in the ninth for score two more.
Which shot was tougher, the one in six or the shot that set up the steal in seven?
Undeniably, it was the shot in six, Homan said.
“It was definitely tough. She made a good one and made me stand on my head for two. But it was only for two. It wasn’t a big end. I had to keep the foot down. They played a phenomenal game.”
Team Canada, with a lineup that includes lead Sarah Wilkes, second Emma Miskew, along with Fleury at third, was held to one with hammer in the first, but made up for it, stealing a single in the second to open an early 2-0 lead.
Einarson, who has won three of her four Scotties titles playing out of the semifinal, said she wasn’t surprised Homan, also a four-time champion, would be on her game.
“I kind of figured Rachel would come out shooting today,” Einarson said. “I thought we played well. We didn’t have too many opportunities, but when we did, we did take advantage. Just really the changing point was when mine went a little too deep in six and left her that spin-off.
“Then my first one in seven was a fresh path. I thought I through really close to what I was throwing my last rock and it kind of got bottled up a little bit.”
Einarson isn’t fazed by having to play an extra match on the final day of the Scotties.
“I think if we come out like that tomorrow, maybe a little bit sharper, I think we’ll do well,” said Einarson, whose new-look team includes lead Krysten Karwacki, second Karlee Burgess and third Val Sweeting.
Homan can tie the Scotties record on Sunday, a record she set in 2013 and 2014, with a win, which would give her 22 straight victories and two straight perfect championships.
The 35-year-old said she and her teammates live for moments like these.
“These moments are tough. They’re a grind. You’re playing the best teams in Canada and we know we need to bring our best and it’s exciting for us to rise to the occasion, the to challenge. Thankfully tonight it was enough,” Homan said.
“I think we’re going to need a little bit more tomorrow.”
At this point, the repeat is the only thing on their minds.
“We want to wear that Maple Leaf in a couple of weeks. We’ve trained as hard as we can for this moment. At the end of the day, the sports gods will decide, but we’re going to give it our all.”
Einarson beat Black 10-5 in the round robin.
