THUNDER BAY — “Ms. McCarville! Ms. McCarville!"
Holy Family School brought the noise to Fort William Gardens, their cheering and chanting shaking the rafters of the 74-year-old barn, playing host this week to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
It worked.
Skip Krista McCarville, a Grade 6 teacher at the Rosslyn Road school, fed off the cheers of her own students and their school mates, at the expense of Jane DiCarlo’s Prince Edward Island foursome.
McCarville, lead Ashley Sippala, second Kendra Lilly and third Andrea Kelly, scored three in the third and stole five more in the fifth when P.E.I. fourth Veronica Mayne’s draw against five stopped short of the rings, and went on to tie a Hearts-era record for points in a game, defeating their Maritime opponent 15-2.
The overall record is 18, set in 1962.
It was an electric game, McCarville said, her team winning for a third straight game to improve to 3-4, with only New Brunswick left in their round-robin schedule.
“They were very, very loud. It’s awesome. I love that they’re cheering me on and it’s always so nice, just to show them that there’s a different side to me, too. It’s not just Mrs. McCarville. I’m Mrs. McCarville, but I’m also an athlete and a person outside of school,” McCarville said.
Sippala said it meant the world to her to have so many kids, and not just the ones from Holy Family School, cheering on Team Northern Ontario.
Her daughter, who also happens to attend Holy Family School, was also in the crowd.
“This whole week has been so wonderful. Everyone has supported us, even (when) we’ve been losing or we’ve been winning. This is the best that we can do it here in front of them,” Sippala said.
Team McCarville made the final of the 2022 Scotties, also held in Thunder Bay, but at that time fans weren’t allowed in the stands because of COVID-19 restrictions, at least until the final weekend when volunteers were allowed to watch in person.
Sippala said it was a little tricky trying to make calls with so much noise, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle.
The large lead gave them time to let it all sink in.
“I wasn’t trying to tune it out, especially after we got those three. We were feeling a little bit better, and it was fun to have fun with them and for sure, we enjoyed it,” Sippala said.
The playoff picture, which almost certainly won’t include the Northern Ontario entry for a second straight Scotties, still remains up in the air.
Team Canada improved to 6-0 and will be one of the three teams advancing from Pool A, clinching a spot with their 7-5 triumph over Corryn Brown’s B.C. rink.
Four other teams are sitting on four wins, including 4-2 Alberta rinks skipped by Selena Sturmay and Kayla Skrlik, Saskatchewan’s Nancy Martin (4-3), who beat Nunavut 7-4 on Wednesday morning and Brown (4-2).
McCarville does not fare well in any tiebreaker scenario, with a 1-3 record against the four-win teams and she’s sixth in the last shot draw rankings.
A .500 record at the end of the week, at this point, feels like a win, McCarville said.
“At this point, definitely. When we stepped off the ice and we were 0-4, we just said the best we can do is 4-4. That’s what we did last year, even though it doesn’t feel great, right now knowing we can go 4-4 is all we can do and that’s what we want,” McCarville said.
“We’re also looking at points for the possible (Olympic) pre-trials. Every win means points for us.”
