Kerri Einarson, Maryfield, Saskatchewan’s Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Briane Meilleur, Krysten Karwacki, Heather Nedohin were looking to win back-to-back Scotties championships. They were successful in their venture as they defeated Rachel Homan and Team Ontario 9-7 to capture this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship.
Some highlights from the 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which began on February 19th, are included below.
A highlight from the pre-draw included Team Wild Card 2 (Mackenzie Zacharias) vs. Team Canada (Kerri Einarson). Val Sweeting of Maryfield, Saskatchewan is Team Canada’s 3rd. Rachel Erickson, also from Maryfield, is an alternate on Team WC2.
In the next round, Val Sweeting (3rd/Einarson) and Team Canada took on Team Wild Card 2 (Mackenzie Zacharias).
In the battle of Maryfield, it was Val Sweeting getting the upper hand over Rachel Erickson (alternate WC2) with a final score of 7-3.
After the game, Rachel Erickson said, “It feels good to have our first game under our belts! That was the first game any of us had played in months, so it was definitely a building game. You could see the girls gain confidence each end so I’m excited to see what tomorrow will bring!”
Chaelynn Kitz, Saskatchewan’s second, talked about the match they played against Prince Edward Island on day two, Saturday.
“Suzanne had playoffs to get to the Scotties but we haven’t played together since November so they have an upper hand there but I think if we catch on to this ice faster and keep the game simple and with Sherry’s experience I think we have a good chance.”
(Picture courtesy of Rachel Erickson)
Team Zacharias
Chaelynn Kitz, Sherry Anderson and the rest of team Saskatchewan dropped a heartbreaker to Suzanne Birt and team Prince Edward Island during Draw 2 after a final score of 7-6 for PEI.
For Draw 3, Kerry Galusha and NWT looked to rebound after a heartbreaking defeat versus Kerri Einarson, Val Sweeting and Team Canada.
“That was a tough loss,” Galusha believes. “We controlled the entire game and let it slip away. After the fifth end, I don’t think our team was on the same page strategy-wise and we went away from our normal game plan and it cost us.”
Team Canada was victorious in their first contest and skip Kerri Einarson says, “It felt good to get back out there, It didn’t take us long to shake the rust off. Of course, there were nerves the first couple ends but I thought we adjusted and caught onto the ice well.”
Rachel Erickson of Maryfield, who is the alternate on Mackenzie Zacharias’s WC2, looked to find the win column when they took on Laura Walker and Team Alberta.
“There was definitely some rust,” Walker explains. “Combining being away from competitive play for a year, with your first game with new teammates, made it a little tricky but we got better every end. We feel really good all things considered. We’re clicking as a group and figuring things out.“
Team WC2 battled the defending champions in their first game. “I think that only better prepares us for the rest of the week,” Rachel Erickson says. “We came here to play the best and having a tough game off the start is really motivating.”
Team Alberta
(Photo courtesy of Laura Walker)
Prior to the Saturday, February 20th Draw 3 matchup between Team Canada and Team NWT, the game was postponed due to a member of Team NWT becoming sick. According to Team NWT skip Kerry Galusha, it did not look like COVID-19.
Laura Walker and Team Alberta edged Mackenzie Zacharias and Team WC2 with a score of 7-5. Alberta improved to 2-0. Zacharias and the team played well the first two games but remained winless.
Saskatchewan looked to rebound after their last heartbreaking loss against Team Nunavut. For Chaelynn Kitz and the rest of Team Saskatchewan they believed they just needed to keep having fun and trust the ice.
(Photo courtesy of Rachel Erickson)
A highlight from Draw 4 was Team Saskatchewan improving to 1-1 by knocking off Nunavut 9-3.
During Draw 5 on Sunday, February 21st, Canada took on Team WC 3. Kerri Einarson made a great shot with her last stone in the 10th end to give Team Canada a 6-4 win.
During the 6th draw, PEI (Birt) faced Quebec (St.Georges).
PEI entered the match with a 2-0 record. Quebec dropped their opener but rebounded later to improve to 1-1. Team Quebec scored 6 points in the last 2 ends and defeated Team PEI 8-6.
Quebec skip Laurie St-Georges said her team is “really excited and pumped to get back out on the ice. We need good communication. We have to enjoy the moment and make some shots. I think we have to continue to do what has been working for us in the past 2 games and keep being ourselves, rock stars.”
(Photo courtesy of Laurie St-Georges)
Before Draw 7, Rachel Erickson of WC2 talked about their game against Team Yukon. “We are feeling good,” says Erickson of Maryfield who is an alternate on Team Zacharias. “We’ve had the day to rest up and are excited to get back out there. We’ve gotten more comfortable with the ice each draw so we are feeling confident going into tonight’s game. Would be a huge boost for the team to pick up a win tonight.”
Team Canada faced Northern Ontario and looked to keep the momentum going after winning their previous game on their last shot.
“(Prior to the last shot) I just took a big breath and said to myself throw it hard,” Einarson says. “I needed to throw big weight to get that to go out.”
“We are excited for the opportunity to play such a great team,” Team Northern Ontario lead Amanda Gates explains. “We’re going to still stick to our game plan and build off our performance from this morning. We felt we played a good game, just on the wrong side of the inch.”
(Team Northern Ontario – Photo courtesy of Amanda Gates)
Team WC2 faced Team Yukon in Draw 7. The Zacharias rink (Team WC2) found the win column in a huge way. They scored 5 in the first and then another 6 in the fifth end to crush Team Yukon 15-3. Team Zacharias improved to 1-2 while Team Yukon fell to 0-4.
Team Canada took on Northern Ontario and scored deuces in ends 1,4,5,8. They stole 4 in 6 en route to a 12-4 victory over Northern Ontario.
Team Canada remained unbeaten with a 3-0 record and Northern Ontario dropped a second straight match to fall to 1-2.
The next day, February 22nd, there was a make up game scheduled between Kerry Galusha’s NWT and Kerri Einarson, Maryfield’s Val Sweeting and the rest of Team Canada. Galusha stated that being the only game on ice made her a little nervous.
Kerri Einarson, Maryfield’s Val Sweeting and Team Canada doubled up Kerry Galusha and Team North West Territories by a score of 8-4.
“It was a great game, I thought we had a good handle on the ice and speed.” Kerri Einarson says, “[It] felt like we were all throwing well.”
The afternoon featured game on TSN was an all prairie battle; Saskatchewan vs. Manitoba. Jennifer Jones’ rink were 2-1 while Sherry Anderson, Chaelynn Kitz and Team Saskatchewan were 1-1.
(Team Quebec is in action against Wild Card 1… photo courtesy of Laurie St-Georges).
It was a nail biting finish between Team Saskatchewan and Team Manitoba. Sensational Saskatchewan skip Sherry Anderson was facing a crowded house with her first stone. Already sitting 1, she drew down to sit on her first and second shot, forcing Jennifer Jones to try a challenging run back. Jones was unsuccessful in removing the Saskatchewan stones. Sherry and the ladies picked up 2 points and, in the words of sportscaster Vic Rauter, “make the final Saskatchewan 5-4.” Saskatchewan improved to 2-1 while Manitoba was at 2-2.
In the evening, Mackenzie Zacharias and Maryfield’s Rachel Erickson took on Kerry Galusha and Team North West Territories. Kerry Galusha and Team North West Territories snuck past Mackenzie Zacharias of WC2.
The next morning, February 23rd, Chaelynn Kitz and Team Saskatchewan dropped a tough one against Team New Brunswick with a score of 7-6. New Brunswick improved to 1-3, Saskatchewan fell to 2-2.
That afternoon, Team Manitoba and Jennifer Jones made history when she became the all-time winningest curler at a Scotties. Team Manitoba improved to 3-2 while Team NL dropped to 2-2.
Val Sweeting, Kerri Einarson and Team Canada defeated Team Nova Scotia 8-3.
Rachel Erickson and Team WC2 dropped a tough game 5-4 to team WC3.
“[It was] another close one. [We] just struggled with the ice a bit,” Erickson says. She added, “[We] have a big day tomorrow to make up for it.”
Photo courtesy of Chaelynn Kitz
In evening action, Chaelynn Kitz and Team Saskatchewan stole 3 in the tenth end to defeat Quebec 9-6.
On February 24th, Kerry Galusha and Team North West Territories shocked Rachel Homan and Team Ontario after defeating the team with a final score of 7-5.
“It was huge,” Galusha says. “I’ve never beaten Homan before so we knew we had to play well. We made all the shots when it mattered.”
Val Sweeting and Team Canada edged Team Yukon 11-7
Rachel Erickson and Team WC2 needed a clutch shot to knock off Team Nova Scotia.
In afternoon action, Chaelynn Kitz and Team Saskatchewan knocked off team WC1 with a score of 8-7.
In the final day of Round Robin competition for the Scotties, Rachel Erickson and the rest of the young ladies on Team WC2 gave Rachel Homan and Team Ontario all they could handle and more, but Team Ontario won 8-6.
Val Sweeting and Team Canada got past Alberta 8-3.
Chaelynn Kitz and Team Saskatchewan had a huge game against Team BC on February 25th and left with a 8-7 win.
After finishing 1st in their pool, Chaelynn Kitz and Team Saskatchewan battled Maryfield’s Val Sweeting and Team Canada on February 26th; they were defeated and went on to play Team WC3 next. Unfortunately, the Anderson Rink and Team Saskatchewan fell to Team WC3 after another close loss, 9-8.
The final draw of the playoff round meant that only the final 3 teams would be standing, while 5 teams were sent home.
Maryfield, Saskatchewan’s Val Sweeting and Team Canada had 10 wins and moved on to the championship round. They could earn a direct bye to the final with a win over Jennifer Jones of Team Manitoba in their evening match.
Team Saskatchewan had the chance to play spoiler on February 27th if they could defeat Rachel Homan and the 9-2 Team Ontario. Ontario is 9-2; their spot in the final 3 was not guaranteed, but with a win and a Canada loss they would finish first. Kitz and the Anderson rink were defeated by the Homan rink by a score of 7-2.
After seeing Saskatchewan eliminated, all eyes were on Team Alberta, Team Manitoba, Team Ontario and Team Canada.
Laura Walker and Team Alberta played Team Canada after defeating Team Manitoba in a close playoff match. The winner of the Alberta/Canada game would earn themselves a trip to the championship game against Rachel Homan and Team Ontario.
Team Canada vs Alberta – winner goes for gold. (Photos courtesy of Kerri Einarson and Rachel Walker)
(Team Alberta)
(Team Canada)
Team Canada and Saskatchewan’s Val Sweeting defeated Team Alberta to advance to the championship game against Team Ontario; a rematch of last year’s final where Einarson knocked off Homan in an extra end to capture the title.
Championship Game Result
Move over Betty White, we have some new Golden Girls! Kerri Einarson, Maryfield, Saskatchewan’s Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, Briane Meilleur, Krysten Karwacki and Heather Nedohin of Team Canada made it back-to-back championships at the Scotties! They defeated the Rachel Homan rink from Ontario with a score of 9-7 to capture their second consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
“It was a great game,” Einarson says. “My team played amazing, and we got a good handle of the ice. [We] capitalized on our opportunities when we got them. It’s a pretty amazing feeling to win back to back titles. [I’m] so proud of my teammates and myself for giving it our all this week.”
(Photo courtesy of back-to-back Scotties championship winning skip Kerri Einarson)
The next curling action begins on March 5th when the Brier begins.