Manitoba Scotties set to begin in Carberry

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This article was published 14/12/2021 (1573 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the first time ever, Carberry will welcome the top female curlers in the province to their town.

The 2022 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts is set to get underway at the Carberry Plains Recreation Centre Wednesday as 12 teams vie for the chance to wear the Bison from Jan. 28 to Feb. 6 in Thunder Bay.

This marks the first time that the provincial playdowns have taken place since February 2020, when Kerri Einarson defeated Jennifer Jones in a wild 8-6 affair in Rivers.

While Einarson is already assured a spot in Thunder Bay as the skip for Team Canada after winning the last two Scotties and the Jones rink is preparing to make the trip to Bejing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, the field that is assembled for Carberry is still stout.

Tracy Fleury, who was one shot away from going to the Olympics, is the favourite for the event, but the likes of Mackenzie Zacharias and Beth Peterson will be looking to build off of their experiences at last year’s Scotties held in the Calgary curling bubble.

There’s also a local rink to cheer for in Alyssa Calvert, while Neepawa’s Terry Ursel is also representing Westman.

Pool play runs until Friday afternoon, with the top three rinks in each group advancing to the championship pool.

From there, the top three teams will earn a spot in the playoff round, which will be held Sunday.

Those that are unable to make it to Carberry can still watch the action as CurlManitoba will be showing action from the first four days — except for Wednesday’s 8:30 p.m. draw — on their YouTube page.

Sportsnet will be broadcasting Sunday’s semifinal and final.

The full field for this year’s Manitoba Scotties is as follows:

Asham Black Group

Team Shae Bevan (St. Vital Curling Club — Skip Shae Bevan, Third Kyla Grabowski, Second Paige Beaudry, Lead Jessica Hancox, Alternate Grace Beaudry)

The 2018 provincial junior curling champions will be making their first appearance at the Manitoba Scotties this week. They earned a spot in the field when Jones won the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials last month in Saskatoon. Beaudry is just 16 years of age and is one of the top young talents in the province.

Team Jennifer Clark-Rouire (Miami Curling Club — Skip Jennifer Clark-Rouire, Third Lisa McLeod, Second Kelsey Meger, Lead Laurie Macdonell, Alternate Jolene Calum)

Clark-Rouire was the longtime alternate for the Jones rink at the Scotties and also served in that role at the 2020 event for Einarson’s championship winning squad. Macdonell is the newest member of the roster as she joined the rink this fall.

Team Tracy Fleury (East St. Paul Curling Club — Skip Tracy Fleury, Third Selena Njegovan, Second Liz Fyfe, Lead Kristin MacCuish)

The top ranked team on the World Curling Tour will be looking to win their first provincial title since 2019, when they bounced back from giving up a five-ender in the second to beat Einarson 13-7. The rink lost the wild card game to Jones at the 2020 Scotties and finished in a tie for sixth at last year’s event in Calgary, where Chelsea Carey filled in at skip as Fleury elected to stay home due to family commitments.

Team Kaitlyn Jones (Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club — Skip Kaitlyn Jones, Third Robyn Njegovan, Second Abby Ackland, Lead Sara Oliver)

The 23-year-old Jones, who was born in Thompson, has curled all over the country before returning to Manitoba this season. She won the Canadian and world junior curling championships in 2018 when she was based out of Nova Scotia, where she curled with current Team Zacharias third Karlee Burgees. The rink’s best result this year was a runner-up result at a Saskatchewan Curling Tour stop in Saskatoon.

Team Meghan Walter (East St. Paul Curling Club — Skip Meghan Walter, Third Lane Prokopowich, Second Katie McKenzie, Lead Mackenzie Elias)

The Walter rink – which features Dauphin’s Prokopowich – is coming off a trip to the World Under-21 qualifier last month in Saskatoon, where they reached the quarter-final round. Walter already has a national and world mixed title in her resume as she was the third on Colin Kurz’s squad in 2018-19.

Team Kristy Watling (Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club — Skip Kristy Watling, Third Hailey Ryan, Second Emilie Rafnson, Lead Sarah Pyke)

Watling has a completely new rink from the one she skipped to a fourth place finish at the 2020 Manitoba Scotties in Rivers. The team has reached the finals at two cashspiel events this season, as they were the runner-up to Jamie Sinclair in Winnipeg and Penny Barker in Moose Jaw. Pyke, who was the lead on Kaitlyn Lawes’ Canadian junior championship squad in 2008, earned a bronze medal at the 2013 Scotties as the lead for Kelly Scott’s British Columbia quartet.

Asham Express Red Group

Team Alyssa Calvert (Carberry Curling Club — Skip Alyssa Calvert, Third Stacey Fordyce, Second Pam Robins, Lead Roz Taylor)

The hometown rink — which added Fordyce during the pandemic — has been competing in the Westman Super League of Curling at the Brandon Curling Club this year and has already earned a spot for the playoffs in January. This will be Calvert’s first trip to the provincials since 2019, where she finished in a tie for third in her pool.

Team Kristy McDonald (Granite Curling Club — Skip Kristy McDonald, Third Lisa Blixhavn, Second Lindsay Warkentin, Lead Raunora Westcott, Alternate Vanessa Foster)

McDonald – who was on Carey’s bronze medal winning side at the 2014 Scotties and lost to Einarson in the provincial final in 2016 — returned to the sport this year after a five-year absence. Warkentin, who also played on that Carey rink, is filling in for Leslie-Wilson Westcott, who is on maternity leave. Ranoura Westcott was the lead on Michelle Englot’s team at the 2017 Scotties that lost in an extra end to Rachel Homan in the final.

Team Beth Peterson (Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club — Skip Beth Peterson, Third Jenna Loder, Second Katherine Doerksen, Lead Melissa Gordon)

Peterson made her debut on the Scotties stage in Calgary last year as one of the Wild Card teams and finished in fifth place with a 7-5 record. The rink’s best showing at the provincials was in 2019, where they lost a tiebreaker game to Abby Ackland. They reached the final at the Mother Club Fall Curling Classic in September, where they lost to Zacharias.

Team Darcy Robertson (Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club — Skip Darcy Robertson, Third Laura Burtnyk, Second Gaetanne Gauthier, Lead Krysten Karwacki)

This marks the second provincial appearance for this iteration of the Robertson rink, as they finished 3-2 in their pool in Rivers but were beaten out for a playoff spot by Einarson and Jones. The team also took part in the Olympic pre-trials this fall, where they posted a 3-3 record and missed out on the playoffs. Robertson has competed at the Scotties on three occasions, with her best finish coming in 1986 as she skipped Manitoba to a 6-5 record.

Team Terry Ursel (Neepawa Curling Club — Skip Terry Ursel, Third Wanda Rainka, Second Chris Hamblin, Lead Tracy Igonia, Alternate Brenda Walker)

Ursel’s team has qualified for the last two provincial playdowns but did not reach the playoffs. The quartet finished in fourth spot at the 2019 Canadian seniors in Chilliwack, B.C., while Ursel, Iognia and Walker took part in the 2017 seniors in Fredericton, N.B., where they ended up in a tie for fifth.

Team Mackenzie Zacharias (Altona Curling Club — Skip Mackenzie Zacharias, Third Karlee Burgess, Second Emily Zacharias, Lead Lauren Lenentine)

After winning the Canadian and world junior titles before the curling season shut down in 2020 due to the pandemic, Zacharias’ squad earned a wild card spot at last year’s Scotties in Calgary, where they posted a 3-5 record. They’ve won a pair of tour events in Winnipeg this year and qualified for the playoffs at the Olympic pre-trials, where they in the quarterfinal round to British Columbia’s Corryn Brown.