THUNDER BAY – The drought is finally over.
After three-and-a-half days of disappointment, Team Northern Ontario finally has their first win at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, downing Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik 10-4 on Monday night to end a streak of futility that had the team struggling to figure out what to do to turn things around.
The win set off a thunderous roar at Fort William Gardens, the fans in the stands almost as relieved as skip Krista McCarville and her teammates, lead Sarah Potts, second Ashley Sippala and fifth Kendra Lilly breathed a huge sigh of relief after finding the win column
McCarville said they know they’ve got a tough task ahead of them, sitting at 1-4 with three round-robin games remaining, but there remains a chance the team could still make the playoffs, so it’s full steam ahead at this point.
A year ago, 4-4 was good enough for a shot at the tiebreaker, but with last shot draw being the decider, and Team Northern Ontario ranking seventh in the nine-team Pool A, it’s a long-shot at best at this point, knowing they also need help to stay alive.
“We know that it’s a very slim, outside chance with what’s happening right now, but you never know. We’re just going to try to win our next game and that’s all we can do right now,” McCarville said.
Regardless, the win felt really good, McCarville said.
“Finally,” she said.
“Obviously we didn’t give the crowd too much to cheer about before this, so it felt really nice to do it for ourselves, but also for the fans of Thunder Bay.”
Sippala said it was emotional moment when the two teams shook hands after eight ends, McCarville stealing three to put the game out of reach.
“I was on the verge of tears. We were so happy. We just wanted to win for us and the crowd. It’s been a tough go. But everyone’s been so supportive, so we wanted to win for everyone too, to have something to cheer for,” Sippala said.
We’re so happy and it just felt more like us, too.”
Northern Ontario started strong, stealing a pair in the second end. Skrlik (3-2), the Alberta champion, had a chance for a takeout and a possible four in the third, but spilled and only collected a pair, the game tied 2-2. McCarville had a double for three in the fourth, settled for two and took a 4-2 lead into the fifth, when she stole another, Skrlik’s draw to the eight sailing a little long.
The two teams traded deuces in the sixth and seventh and then in the eighth the Alberta skip’s final shot rolled long and McCarville got the strong finish she needed, scoring three to end the match.
Meanwhile, British Columbia continued their strong play to start the week, earning a 10-3 win over Nunavut.
At 4-1, it’s the best Scotties start for the foursome.
“I think we’ve just been building on what we’ve been working on all season. We’ve come in with a game plan. So far we’ve been executing and we’ve been stringing some shots together,” said British Columbia third Erin Pincott.
In other action, Team Canada’s Rachel Homan (4-0) edged Nancy Martin’s Saskatchewan rink 9-6, scoring a pair with hammer in the ninth.Saskatchewan fell to 3-2 and New Brunswick edged Prince Edward Island 8-7 in an extra end.
Northern Ontario plays Nunavut (0-4) at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
