In curling, the skips get name recognition and Kerri Einarson bears that responsibility on her shoulders.
The 34-year-old Team Canada skip throws last in the order and when she misses her shots, the consequences can be enormously dire. Until the next end gets going, there’s nobody to bail her out.
Einarson was having her difficulties Monday afternoon in her game against Denmark at the BKT Tires & OK Tire World Women’s Curling Championship, nothing terrible, but heading into the break after the fifth end, she had made only 50 per cent of her shots and Canada was trailing the Danes 5-3.
The great thing about curling is it’s a team game and when one of players isn’t quite up to scratch the other three have a chance to step up and show their world-class ability to play game, and that’s exactly what Team Canada lead Briane Meilleur, second Shannon Birchard and third Val Sweeting did.
They kept making shots, just like they had been all game, and their excellence on ice finally wore off on Einarson, whose second-half execution shone through in an 8-4 win over Denmark.
Overall, Einarson’s obvious early-game difficulties aside, the Canadians looked much sharper Monday than they did Sunday night in an 11-3 loss to Switzerland, and Einarson and her crew will wake up Tuesday with 3-2 record.
“We had a couple opportunities early but we didn’t let it get to us, we kept setting it up and Kerri made some great shots at the end there to get those extra points,” said Sweeting. “To be honest, we all felt close on all week and just we weren’t quite getting our finger on it. We would rub a guard, but it was a lot closer than it looked, scoreboard-wise.
“It’s tough to trust the process and stick with it sometimes. You kind of want to grasp at straws and look for answers but it really was just being patient and trust tat we would figure it out and get those rocks in a good spot… and we got the results.”
Sweeting wasn’t worried about her skip.
“There’s some she wanted back early, for sure,” said Sweeting. “She’s just so clutch we never sweat anything. There was never a doubt, and that’s part of it, being there when someone is not feeling it early. But we knew she would come through, we just had to keep setting it up.”
They headed into the break with Einarson making only 50 per cent of her shots, while skip Dupont was at 75 per cent. But all that was forgotten in the sixth end, when Canada took advantage of two outstanding shots from Sweeting to set up a triple.
Sweeting’s tough double left Canada sitting one, with two others in the 12-foot both well protected. Dupont was able to kick out shot rock but was unable to dislodge the other two Canadian rocks. Einarson drew to the open ice on the other side and her hit-and-stick scored three for a 5-3 lead.
In the seventh, Canada took advantage of a couple of misses from Dupont to blow it wide open. Einarson’s first shot overcurled but it scooted over and her rock ended up completely buried. The Danish skip’s first shot sailed through the house without hitting anything and after Einarson drew to the back of the four-foot, Dupont was too thin on the takeout. That gave Canada a steal of two for a 7-3 lead, their biggest of the tournament, and all of sudden they felt the weight of the nation coming off their shoulders.
“It was nice to have a little momentum going, we still maybe started a little slow but we were lucky enough to still have a lead,” said Meilleur. “Then by the half of the game we felt more ourselves and the energy was better. We were stringing some shots in row and it was a good finish. Hopefully we can keep stringing wins together.”
Canada started the game holding the hammer and Einarson had a shot at scoring two in the first end but missed her double and had to settle for one.
After a blanked second end, Denmark had a chance to take the lead in the third. Dupont made a nose-hit double that left their raised rock on the button. Einarson’s angle raise double was slightly off. That set up Dupont for a draw for two but her shot ticked off a guard and the game was tied.
Canada blew another two-point opportunity in the fourth end, after Dupont drew in behind cover to rule out a chance for three for Einarson. It also left a tough draw for two and Einarson was heavy on her throw and the rock sailed through the house. The single put Canada up 2-1.
Denmark grabbed a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Danish third Mathilde Halse kicked Canada off the button with a double and replaced one of her own for shot rock. After Sweeting kicked her out of scoring position, Halse’s second shot had perfect weight and she buried behind cover. Dupont’s angle raise gave Denmark a two-point end.
Even after Canada’s triple, Dupont still held a glimmer of hope.
“Going into the seventh, to be down (by three) with the hammer, it’s not a disaster,” said Dupont. “It’s not a big deal. I’m not going to lose sleep over it.
“We had a good chance in the eight for a multiple score. It was one or two shots in the sixth and seventh. If I had made mine in the seventh we would have been one down without hammer and that would have been fine.”
Canada will play Japan (4-1) in their next game Tuesday at 2 p.m.
This was the first day of the event Canada had just one game on the schedule. They were supposed to play Scotland in the evening draw Tuesday but with four members of the Scottish team having tested positive for COVID, the team was forced to withdraw on Sunday. All scheduled round-robin opponents the rest of the week for Scotland will have default wins put on their record.
In the evening draw Monday, Switzerland (skipped by Silvana Tiriazoni) improved to 5-0 atop the standings after an 8-6 win over Italy. Germany (Daniela Jentz) improved to 2-1 with a 7-5 win over previously undefeated Japan. The United States (Cory Christensen) moved into a fifth-place tie with Canada when they defeated Norway 12-4. Sweden improved to 4-1 with its default win Monday night over Scotland.
In other afternoon results, South Korea beat United States 11-4, Switzerland topped Turkey 8-3 and Germany defeated Czech Republic 6-4. In the morning draw, Italy picked up its first win of the event, doubling Norway 8-4, and Sweden defeated Czech Republic 8-1.
