McCannell excited for hometown provincials

It’s tough to temper expectations after a run like Team Hailey McFarlane’s last year.

But in their minds, it wasn’t a surprise they were a win away from the playoffs at the RME Women of the Rings.

McFarlane is back in the 12-team women’s provincial curling championship this year, and it’s a special week for lead Hallie McCannell of Rivers.

The Manitoba transplant gets to play in front of a home crowd when the event begins today at the Riverdale Community Centre.

“We love curling on the arena ice, the ice makers do such a great job all the time, and it’s always a great atmosphere at provincials. Being the hometown team makes it so much better,” McCannell said, adding she hopes to be in the mix again this weekend.

“We’re not going to put any pressure on ourselves. We’re a team that likes to go out and have fun, try and make as many shots as we can and see where things end up at the end of the week.”

The team, including Janelle Lach of Plumas at third, Stacy Sime of Dauphin at second and alternate Emilie Rafnson, is in Group B along with Kate Cameron and Beth Peterson, who are ranked 11th and 12th in the Canadian team ranking system, respectively, as well as veteran Darcy Robertson.

The other two teams in the group are Carberry’s Alyssa Calvert — who curls with Stacey Irwin, Pam Robins and Roslynn Taylor — and Dauphin’s Lane Prokopowich, who has Mikaylah Lyburn, Caitlin Kostna and Stephanie Feeleus on her team from Winnipeg’s Granite Curling Club.

Team McFarlane started playing together last season, and hit the ice quite late compared to others due to other commitments.

But they reached the final of their first bonspiel of the season in early November to secure their berth.

McFarlane has played in just two other events this year, but the team has plenty of experience from their individual careers. All four have been skips in the past, which McCannell feels helps a lot.

“We’ve all settled into our positions we’re at now. But it does help because we’re all able to contribute to the strategy and some of the shots,” McCannell said.

“Hailey is the skip, so she gets the final say on the shots, but she’s always open to input from all of us, which we’re willing to offer.

“Our first responsibility is leaning into our own positions.”

The run last year started with a loss before McFarlane rattled off five straight wins — including one over eventual champion Cameron — to momentarily sit in first place after topping Peterson 9-8.

However, McFarlane lost to Robertson and Kristy Watling to drop into a tiebreaker game against Peterson, falling 7-5.

“It was a little tough losing the tiebreaker … but we were very proud of how far we made it last year,” McCannell said.

The other group features No. 1 seed Kaitlyn Lawes, who is ranked sixth in the CTRS, as well as Lisa McLeod, Watling, Rachel Kaatz, Sarah-Jane Sass and Cheyenne Ehnes.

Group A play begins today at 9 a.m., with McFarlane playing Robertson in Group B’s draw at 1 p.m., and Group A back at 7 o’clock.

Thursday’s draws are at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 o’clock.

Friday has four draws, at 8:30 a.m., 12:15, 4 and 7 p.m.

On Saturday, the top two teams in each group cross over, with the winners meeting in the 1-vs.-2 Page playoff game.

The losers play the third-place teams from each group in the 3-vs.-4 Page game.

Sunday’s semifinal is at 9:30 a.m., with the title game set for 2 p.m.

McCannell is grateful for the opportunity to compete on the provincial stage again, and was quick to point out that it’s not possible without hard-working volunteers.

She knows firsthand how much time it takes, as her partner, Justin Gerrard, is one of them.

“I haven’t seen Justin for the last week and a half because he’s been at the rink from morning until dark, and he’s not the only one,” McCannell said. “There’s a lot of people helping put it on, and it’s very much appreciated.

“I know all the hard work they’ve been putting into it, and I hope it’s a great event for them. I hope all the fans come out and support it, and I’m hoping to put on a good show for the Rivers community this week.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com