The three top teams of the week are the final three teams. Each was 9-2 going into the playoffs
It was hardest to defeat Homan (Ontario) during the week. Both losses involved the other skips either making a miracle shot or having an otherworldly game.
PEI pulled off the upset when Suzanne Birt facing a cluster of Ontario stones in the 10th made an in off to roll to the button. A startled Ontario then gave up a steal in the extra end.
The other loss was to Manitoba when Kerri Einarson would not miss and was doubling around the house. McCarville may have had the perfect game but Einarson was 94 per cent for that game. Einarson needed an almost perfect game as Homan shot 93 per cent.
Homan was chosen as the All-Star skip for the Scotties but I thought Krista McCarville in the 3-4 game matched her in shots. The distinction was in the rest of the team especially at third. Emma Miskiew out curled Kendra Lilly on Saturday and through the week.
While Einarson was brilliant in nine of her first 11 games she had a pair of puzzling games where Manitoba was soundly beaten.
In the first loss a series of misses on delicate shots left Andrea Crawford (New Brunswick) with an open hit for seven.
The second loss against Jennifer Jones (Wild Card) saw Einarson aggressively start the game but a couple of early misses let Jones score four on each of the first and third ends.
Manitoba had no chance of coming back in either game.
The losses of Jennifer Jones came early and late.
She lost her first game of the Scotties to Ontario. Having had to play her way in the night before in the Wild Card game they were not sharp.
The second loss came after nine consecutive victories. Northern Ontario had an easy 11-6 win when Jones had a disappointing game making only 65 per cent of her shots.
On Saturday evening Einarson could have been named Double E. (She also had a triple.) The Jones rink, especially Jones, could not match the doubles. End after end Jones’s team were left scrambling for a single or fighting to prevent a deuce. A takeout to win was perfect for Einarson who ended up 94 per cent. She anticipated having to draw but Jones, 81 per cent on the game, came deep on her final shot and set up the hit.
Obviously any of the three could win the Scotties but I lean to Einarson. She won a thriller in the Manitoba final against Jones and is fun to watch. Her emotions are always visible. If the final come down to a takeout I like her odds. Listening to the crowd she is their favourite of the final three.
Bill Selnes, who’s based in Melfort, has written about sports since the late 1970s.
