(CCA) When the dust settled, the scene was set for just one tie-breaker game in the women’s field at The Dominion Curling Club Championship in Richmond, B.C.
A log-jam at the top of the leaderboard was broken when Ontario defeated Saskatchewan in Draw 13 action.
Ontario front end Kelly Williams and Jeni Mah carry skip Jodi McCutcheon’s rock down the ice in a crucial 7-5 win over Saskatchewan (Photo Yadranka Thompson and The Dominion)
Saskatchewan (4-2) had a chance to prevent any tie-breakers with a victory over Ontario, but High Park skip Jodi McCutcheon stole two in the eighth end to win 7-5 and clinch first place with a 6-0 record. Saskatchewan skip Patricia Yeske of Hillcrest Curling Club didn’t even have a chance to win with her final shot—the best she could have done was make an angle double-takeout for a blank and force an extra end. Her shot sailed wide, giving Ontario the win, and a berth in Sunday morning’s semi-final (9 AM PST).
Saskatchewan will play Quebec tonight at 8 PM PST in the tie-breaker to determine the second playoff team in the “Blue” pool.
Sylvye Turgeon and her Quebec squad, sitting with a 4-2 record, stayed alive with a 6-5 win over Frankie Amos and her foursome from the Mayflower in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In the “Grey” pool there are no tie-breakers. Manitoba’s Meghan Armit clinched first place with a decisive 7-2 win over Alberta, knocking Kendra Nakagama out of the playoffs. Manitoba (5-1) will face Northern Ontario (5-1) in the Sunday’s semi-final, after Melanie Patry of Coniston Curling Club beat B.C. 10-2. The Manitoba win eliminated New Brunswick (4-2) from playoff contention, despite Shannon Tatlock’s 8-2 win over Northwest Territories, which included a 7-ender in the fourth end.
In the other game in Draw 13, Newfoundland and Labrador beat PEI 6-5 when the foursome from the Remax Centre in St. John’s was able to blank the eighth and run Cornwall Curling Club’s Lorianne Davies out of rocks. Davies ends play with a 1-5 record.