By Matthew Abrey
Special to the Western B次元官网网址
Manitoba will face off against Manitoba for Sunday nightB次元官网网址檚 final at the 2018 Scotties Tournament of Hearts after the Manitoba Wild Card team took Nova Scotia in the semifinal Sunday morning.
Team Wild Card, skipped by East St. PaulB次元官网网址檚 Kerri Einarson, held off Mary-Anne Arsenault and her Nova Scotia rink for a 12-9 victory and a date with fellow Manitoban, Jennifer Jones, in the final at 4 p.m.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 pretty cool to have two Manitoba teams in the final,B次元官网网址� said Einarsson. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e really looking forward to tonightB次元官网网址檚 game. IB次元官网网址檓 super excited and canB次元官网网址檛 wait to get out there.B次元官网网址�
Arsenault said Team Nova Scotia isnB次元官网网址檛 too sore about the loss.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l look back with a lot of pride,B次元官网网址� added Arsenault. B次元官网网址淲e fought and battled and played really well against some top teams.B次元官网网址�
Einarson jumped out into an early lead, managing to curl around the high-sitting guards with enough weight to knock ArsenaultB次元官网网址檚 yellow stone out of play, avoiding a steal and laying two.
But Team Wild Card found themselves in a bit of trouble in the second. With her last stone of the end, Einarson attempted a split takeout in which she was guaranteed to lose the shooter, in order to prevent Arsenault from laying two with her hammer shot. Instead, the stone clipped a guard, sending her shooter out of play and tapping one of ArsenaultB次元官网网址檚 rocks towards the button, allowing the Nova Scotia skip to draw for an easy three.
Einarson didnB次元官网网址檛 give Team Nova Scotia time to celebrate, however, as she made an expertly executed pick-and-roll to lay three of her own and take a 5-3 lead heading into the fourth end.
Arsenault once again had an answer to EinarsonB次元官网网址檚 big end, using her second-last shot of the fourth end to thread the needle through a cluttered minefield of high guards, hitting her own rock to knock EinarsonB次元官网网址檚 shot stone out of the rings. The shooter stuck to sit two rocks for Nova Scotia heading into the skipsB次元官网网址� final shots. Einarson flubbed her final shot by nicking a guard, allowing Arsenault to draw to the button to lay a third.
With Einarson sitting two heading into the skipsB次元官网网址� final shots of the fifth end, Arsenault let go of her final rock just a hair too late, resulting in a hog line violation, and the forfeiture of her final stone. Einarson took advantage of the opportunity and managed to stick the shooter while tapping another red stone into the rings to lay four total and take a 9-6 lead.
Team Wild Card kept the pressure on in the sixth end, crowding the house, and Arsenault couldnB次元官网网址檛 quite get her final hammer shot past the guards and to the button, allowing Einarson to steal one to go up 10-6.
Arsenault and her band of Nova Scotians wouldnB次元官网网址檛 go gently into the good night, however. Already sitting one, Arsenault managed to guide her hammer shot right between two of EinarsonB次元官网网址檚 guards with the precision of a seamstress, to lay two and cut Team Wild CardB次元官网网址檚 lead to 10-8.
Einarson would lay one in the eighth, and Arsenault would answer back with one of her own in the ninth, but in the end, Einarson made an easy draw to the button in the tenth end to take the 12-9 victory and earn herself a berth in the final.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just crappy that basically a hog-line violation cost us the game,B次元官网网址� said Arsenault. B次元官网网址淏ut I think we played pretty good. We had our ups and downs and we werenB次元官网网址檛 as strong up and down the lineup as we were in previous games.B次元官网网址�
The final match of the tournament will kick-off at 4pm at the South Okanagan Events Centre and across the TSN network. Be sure to and Facebook page for all Scotties Tournament of Hearts coverage.
