Einarson misses first chance at securing playoff berth, has to settle for tiebreaker
Kerri Einarson needed a win Friday afternoon to book her playoff ticket at Canada's Olympic curling trials. A loss to Kelsey Rocque not only hurt her chances of making the three-team cut, it also gave two other teams hope.
Rocque played spoiler in the women's round-robin finale by posting an 8-4 victory over Einarson - the reigning national women's champion - at SaskTel Centre.
The result left Einarson (4-4) in a three-team tiebreaker on Saturday. A win would have given her a direct path to the semifinal against Jennifer Jones but now Einarson will have to win two more games to get there.
"We never do anything the easy way," Einarson said. "We've got to just keep grinding and keep fighting out there."
Jones and top-seeded Tracy Fleury locked up playoff spots earlier in the competition. Fleury (8-0) closed round-robin play with a 7-6 win over Jones in what was essentially a warmup game for the unbeaten skip ahead of Sunday's final.
Einarson will first play Casey Scheidegger, who beat Rachel Homan 8-6. The winner of that game Saturday morning will play Krista McCarville in the afternoon for the right to meet Jones in the evening.
Scheidegger admitted she did some scoreboard-watching on the next sheet during her game.
"I can't believe it, I'm very excited," she said. "It's thrilling really. I have to thank our friends from Alberta, Kelsey Rocque, for helping us out there. So that was very kind of them."
McCarville, who was idle Friday and watched the draw with her teammates in the stands, has the higher tiebreaker seed based on cumulative last stone draw results.
"Today has been a day of emotions as we had no control of what could happen ... we are super excited and grateful to have another opportunity," McCarville said in a text-message.
Rocque, who was playing for pride, put the pressure on late and made Einarson try some unlikely in-off attempts to score. Einarson had a chance for four points in the eighth but was a shade thick with her final throw, giving up a steal of one.
She flashed an in-off in the ninth and Rocque made a nice triple-takeout in the 10th end that essentially ended it.
"We wanted to come out and finish strong, play well and shake up the standings a bit, as much as we could," Rocque said. "So I think we did our job and we're happy with how we ended the week."
Despite her loss, Jones (5-3) still secured the second seed after Einarson's defeat. The semifinal winner will meet Fleury on Sunday morning for the right to wear the Maple Leaf at the Feb. 4-20 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Laura Walker (3-5) had a chance to create a four-team tiebreaker but she dropped a 10-9 decision to Jacqueline Harrison (3-5) in an extra end.
Rocque was also 3-5 while Homan, who represented Canada at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games but missed the podium, finished last in the nine-team field at 2-6.
The men's playoff picture was also unsettled entering the evening draw at SaskTel Centre.
Brad Gushue and Brad Jacobs (both 6-1) entered play knowing they had made the three-team cut but with seeding still up in the air. Gushue was off for the morning draw while Jacobs topped Mike McEwen 9-5.
Kevin Koe (5-2) moved into third place with an 8-7 victory over Jason Gunnlaugson. Koe is hoping to get back to the Winter Games after missing the podium in Pyeongchang.
McEwen slipped to 4-3 but could still force a Saturday tiebreaker with an evening win over Gushue and a Koe loss to John Epping.
In the other morning games, Brendan Bottcher defeated Epping 10-6 and Matt Dunstone downed Tanner Horgan 8-4.
The women's tiebreaker schedule means both the men's and women's semifinals will be played at the same time Saturday night, creating an unexpected scenario where one game won't be available on television.
It wasn't immediately clear which semifinal would be the feature game. Rights-holder TSN traditionally airs one game per draw and inserts occasional highlights from other matchups into the broadcast.
There does not appear to be timing flexibility for Sunday's schedule since the CFL playoff games are being played that day as well. The women's final is set for Sunday morning and the men's final is scheduled for the evening.
A TSN spokesman said via email that he was looking into the situation. He did not provide a timeline for a decision on semifinal broadcast plans or say if airing both games on different TSN channels was possible.
A message left with TSN Curling's senior curling producer was not immediately returned.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
'Secret report' or standard research? B.C. government addresses safe supply allegations
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
She was too sick for a traditional transplant. So she received a pig kidney and a heart pump
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.