My novice curling league was on hiatus this past weekend but there was the little matter of the Canadian Women’s Curling Championship, AKA The Scotties Tournament of Hearts!

This year’s Scotties was held in friendly Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. As a result, there was a huge amount of farm-related advertising on TSN. If you think you know what kind of canola seeds to plant this year you got another thing coming, buster.

Until a couple of years ago the tournament was a full round robin but the number of teams has grown due to Curling Canada’s desire to have all provinces and territories represented (along with Northern Ontario, Team Canada, and a Wild Card entry). Now there are two groups of eight with the top four from each side getting into the championship pool, taking their records along with them.

In the championship pool each team plays the four teams from the other pool with the top four overall then going to the page playoffs. In the page playoffs, #1 plays #2 with the winner going to the final. The winner of #3 vs. #4 plays the loser of #1 vs. #2 for the second berth in the final.

And since I’m a Team BC guy, I would like to mention a good showing from Kamloops’ Corryn Brown rink who made the championship pool in her first Scotties with a 4-3 record in the qualifying pool. She ended up missing the playoffs with a 5-6 overall record but a damn fine tournament for only 24 years old.

The 2020 Scotties ran from February 15th to 23rd and the final was played on Sunday in front of what looked to be thousands of fans. Luckily, I had a front row seat to a television that was broadcasting the game. With two powerhouse curling provinces in Manitoba and Ontario squaring off the game promised to be a barnburner.

Ontario has plenty of experience in the big games. Rachel Homan’s rink having won the Scotties in 2013, 2014, and 2017 as well as the 2017 World Championships, among a host of other large victories. For the most part since 2014 the Homan-skipped team has been comprised of Lisa Weagle at Lead, Joanne Courtney at Second, and Emma Miskew at Third.

Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson’s rink came into the Scotties as more of an underdog, only coming together as a foursome in 2018 with a trio of former skips joining Einarson. Briane Meilleur at Lead, Shannon Birchard at Second, and Val Sweeting at Third make up Team Manitoba with Sweeting notably having lost back-to-back Scotties in 2014 and 2015 as skip of Team Alberta.

As far as personal favourites, I’m a big fan of Manitoba’s Second Birchard and Ontario’s Third Miskew. They both played lights out Sunday, too. They could freeze on my corner guard any day, I tells ya.

Okay. Enough about my dreams of being wrestled to the ground and mercilessly beaten by lady curlers – on to the big game!

Maniboba started off with the hammer in the first end. Ontario plays a tight game, though, and holds them to a single.

Manitoba then steals 1 in the second after a suprising miss by Homan. They seemed to settle in while Ontario looked like they were pushing to manufacture points in the next end. Manitoba played well and held Ontario to only 1 in the third.

Their strong play led to a pickup of 2 in the fourth for Manitoba with the hammer, despite Ontario’s third Miskew playing a perfect game to that point, shooting 100% through 4.

In the fifth end Manitoba filled the house with yellow stones, forcing Homan to use last rock to draw for a mere single again. Manitoba doing very well to limit Ontario to singles when they had the hammer, avoiding any big ends or even the threat of them so far.

Helping their cause immensely was the stellar play of the stunning Birchard on Manitoba, who ended up shooting 93% (tops in the final) for the day. I’m definitely a nose guy and hers is fantastic.

In the sixth end there was a crowd of six around the button, Manitoba with shot rock and an Ontario stone just biting the button as the second rock.

Manitoba skip Einarson made without a doubt the shot of the game to tap the yellow rock just enough to sneak it in and get 2 for a big 6-2 lead going into the seventh.

Again in the seventh there was a pile of rocks near the button with Ontario needing to put up some crooked numbers to have a chance down the stretch. Unfortunately for Homan she just missed on this triple takeout against three to end up with another single to trail 6-3.

Manitoba played defence in the eighth to protect their now 3 point lead. Ontario forced them to take a single to get the hammer back in the ninth facing a 4 point deficit. At this point things looked grim for Ontario but if any team was going to pull the bacon out of the deep fryer, it was Rachel and her well-accomplished crew.

Homan chose to draw for a deuce in the ninth rather than attempt a risky takeout for 3. Going into the tenth and final end down 7-5 they’d have to steal 2 to get to the eleventh and then steal again to win. No small task.

In the tenth, Homan made a tough draw from out wide to sit 2 and with last rock Manitoba’s Einarson sent her draw deep to give up the steal of 2 and send it to an extra end. She was clearly gutted, almost in tears at having blown a chance to end it all with a draw to the four-foot.

In the eleventh the Manitoba skip had her chance at redemption. Drawing against two Ontario stones she had to put it full four-foot again to win. Almost the same shot she had missed in the tenth.

No mistake this time. She nailed it, putting it on the button for an 8-7 win and the Canadian championship.

A thrilling finish to a spectacular game, one that puts the Einarson rink in Team Canada colours for the World Championships next month and the 2021 Scotties.