It will be a long night for Robyn Silvernagle.
After losing to Manitoba Tuesday evening she spoke of analyzing games at night. Following Wednesday evening’s loss to Northern Ontario she, for the first time at the Scotties, swept by reporters. No game is won or lost by a single player but the skip in curling has an outsize role in games.
On Wednesday evening Northern Ontario gave Saskatchewan lots of opportunities but Team Saskatchewan could not capitalize on them.
In the fourth end Silvernagle’s final shot was an open hit to avoid a steal but she rolled too far.
In the fifth end she was a touch outside on her final shot, an open takeout, and rolled too far, getting one instead of two points.
In the sixth end, Saskatchewan had a great chance for a multiple point steal after Krista McCarville flashed an open takeout on her first shot. (After a 100 per cent game earlier in the day, it was a surprise to see McCarville completely miss a shot.)
On Silvernagle’s last shot there were multiple problems. Silvernagle was heavy and the sweeping did not adjust and the rock ended up in the right side of the four foot, giving McCarville a chance to escape.
Stephanie Lawton said the shot was a bit deeper than they wanted and held out longer on the line than they thought the shot would.
In the seventh end, Saskatchewan had set up to force Northern Ontario to take a point when Silvernagle’s first shot open takeout rolled out of the rings.
It was startling to see Silvernagle, such a strong hitter, have such problems with takeouts. In the 10th end TSN had her at 67 per cent on takeouts.
In the 11th end, needing to steal, the end set up well for Saskatchewan as they were making their shots and Northern Ontario was struggling.
On her first shot Silvernagle made a deft angle raise and it was looking difficult for Northern Ontario.
McCarville tapped a Saskatchewan rock back with her first but Saskatchewan was still shot.
Trying to cut off the right side, Silvernagle’s last shot was, as in the 6th end, heavy and then swept too far and set up a pocket for McCarville who easily made the shot.
Silvernagle could have been light on her last shot but not heavy. Lawton said it slides a bit when out wider and more than the sweepers expected. She said communication was good and that they need to trust each other and do trust each other. Watching the shot, I am not sure what the communication was on it.
Lead Kara Thevenot said you can’t always be perfect.
Saskatchewan goes into the tiebreaker Thursday morning against New Brunswick having lost three of the four games they played against the best teams in their pool. Their win against a winning team was over the surprising New Brunswick team.
With most athletes it is usually best to be playing again immediately after a poor personal game so you have little time to brood. I hope it is that way for Silvernagle.
Bill Selnes, who’s based in Melfort, has written about sports since the late 1970s.
