By Matthew Abrey
Special to the Western News
Manitoba will face off against Manitoba for Sunday night害羞草研究所檚 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. Paul害羞草研究所檚 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.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 pretty cool to have two Manitoba teams in the final,害羞草研究所� said Einarsson. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e really looking forward to tonight害羞草研究所檚 game. I害羞草研究所檓 super excited and can害羞草研究所檛 wait to get out there.害羞草研究所�
Arsenault said Team Nova Scotia isn害羞草研究所檛 too sore about the loss.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檒l look back with a lot of pride,害羞草研究所� added Arsenault. 害羞草研究所淲e fought and battled and played really well against some top teams.害羞草研究所�
Einarson jumped out into an early lead, managing to curl around the high-sitting guards with enough weight to knock Arsenault害羞草研究所檚 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 Arsenault害羞草研究所檚 rocks towards the button, allowing the Nova Scotia skip to draw for an easy three.
Einarson didn害羞草研究所檛 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 Einarson害羞草研究所檚 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 Einarson害羞草研究所檚 shot stone out of the rings. The shooter stuck to sit two rocks for Nova Scotia heading into the skips害羞草研究所� 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 skips害羞草研究所� 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 couldn害羞草研究所檛 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 wouldn害羞草研究所檛 go gently into the good night, however. Already sitting one, Arsenault managed to guide her hammer shot right between two of Einarson害羞草研究所檚 guards with the precision of a seamstress, to lay two and cut Team Wild Card害羞草研究所檚 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.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 just crappy that basically a hog-line violation cost us the game,害羞草研究所� said Arsenault. 害羞草研究所淏ut I think we played pretty good. We had our ups and downs and we weren害羞草研究所檛 as strong up and down the lineup as we were in previous games.害羞草研究所�
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.
