It’s down to three teams and a maximum of three games at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Provincial Women’s Curling Championships in Montague. This afternoon, A final winner Erin Carmody from the Charlottetown Curling Club eliminated five-time PEI women’s champion Suzanne Birt in an 8-7 decision, while Cornwall’s Donna Butler rink beat the host Montague Curling Club’s Tammy Dewar team, winners of the B final, by a  7-4 score. Butler and Carmody now face off in the C final of this triple-knockout event, set for 7 pm.

Photo (L-R): Donna Butler, Carolyn Coulson, Melissa Andrews, Lori Brine, Leita Chisholm

Butler, with teammates Carolyn Coulson, Melissa Andrews, Lori Brine, and fifth player Leita Chisholm and coach Kathie Gallant, got off to an early start in her game, picking up a triple in the first end, and stealing a single in the second. Dewar narrowed the gap to 5-3 after eight, but Butler took a deuce in the ninth, and ran the hometown favorites out of rocks in the final frame.  Carmody and Birt were tied at three at the half,  but Carmody took a deuce in the sixth, and a triple in the eighth to build up an 8-4 lead.  Birt fought back with a deuce in the ninth, but a steal of one in the tenth left her one short of the tie.

The winners of all three finals will then advance to the championship round, Tuesday at 2 and 7 pm. If Carmody wins this evening, she will have a big advantage, as, by winning two of the three finals, she will play in both Tuesday games, and win the title in she takes either. If Butler wins, she will play Dewar in the 2 pm game, with the winner facing Carmody in the 7 pm match. 

The PEI Scotties winning team will advance to the national Scotties, January 30 to February 7 in Sault Ste. Marie Ont.