Einarson, Lawes and Peterson improve to 4-0 at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

MISSISSAUGA – It can be a little tricky to figure out the names and positions for some of the Manitoba players at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

There’s no confusion about their position in the standings.

At 4-0, Manitoba is the only unbeaten team in Pool B at the national women’s curling championship. Beth Peterson kept her team’s undefeated streak intact Monday with a 9-2 rout of Northern Ontario’s Krista Scharf. 

“I think they make the big shots when it matters and they’ve figured out how to do that,” said coach Jill Officer. “I also think that they’ve figured out how to pick up for each other.

“When there’s maybe a miss, the next person comes along and makes a big one to to bail (them) out if needed. That’s a sign of a great team.”

Peterson, who moved from skip to third last fall, threw 88 per cent. Kelsey Calvert, who now skips and throws fourth, was at 95 per cent. 

The foursome, which includes Melissa Gordon-Kurz and Katherine Remillard, kept the Team Peterson name after the back-end position switch, which came after a last-place finish at the Canadian Pre-Trials in late October. 

“I brought it up halfway through this year just because I wasn’t feeling great in the (skip) position,” Peterson said. “So it was a team decision for sure, but we’re feeling really comfortable with the positions we’re in (now).” 

Calvert previously played under her maiden name of Kelsey Rocque. Peterson’s maiden name is still used even though she goes by her married name of Beth Turnbull off the ice.

The team beat Kate Cameron and Kaitlyn Lawes on the final day of the Manitoba playdowns for the right to wear the buffalo at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

“We just kept winning and now we’re here and we just kept it that way,” Calvert said of the team name. “It’s not a big deal to me and I don’t think it’s a big deal to Beth. We’re just out there and we’re playing for each other. 

“It doesn’t matter what team name we’re under, we want to play well.”

They have done just that over the first four days of round-robin play, outscoring their opponents 36-16.

Facing a tough opponent in Scharf, Peterson made a nice double-takeout that stuck to help Manitoba score three points for a 5-2 lead in the sixth end. Another three-ender followed in the eighth and the teams shook hands. 

Peterson said the early January timing of the provincial playdowns helped the team enter this event in strong form.

“We went on a roll there in the end, (we) lost two in a row but then won four in a row,” she said. “I think we’re still kind of riding that high, to be honest.”

Canada’s Kerri Einarson and Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes shared top spot in Pool A at 4-0 after posting comfortable morning wins, both by 8-2 scorelines. 

Einarson beat Quebec’s Jolianne Fortin while Lawes topped Nova Scotia’s Taylour Stevens. Einarson and Lawes were scheduled to square off on Monday night.

Peterson, who lost provincial finals in each of the two previous seasons, made her only previous Scotties appearance in 2021 as a wild-card skip. Calvert debuted as an alternate in 2020 and finished third in 2024 as a second on a wild-card team skipped by Cameron. 

“Kelsey just slipped back into that skip position that she used to play and just looked really comfortable with it,” said Officer, who joined the team after the provincial win. “I feel like Beth is very chatty and has a lot of energy and I actually think she’s able to bring that to the entire team now being in that third position. I think that’s been a real benefit.”

Lawes is also wearing Manitoba colours this week. She claimed the final spot in the draw as the highest-ranked team that hadn’t won a provincial/territorial title. 

The pre-qualification spot became available when Einarson replaced Rachel Homan as the Canada entry. Homan didn’t return to defend her title as she’s preparing for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics. 

In other afternoon games, Nova Scotia’s Christina Black rolled to a 9-1 victory over Mackenzie Mitchell of Newfoundland and Labrador. Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik downed Nunavut’s Julia Weagle 9-2. 

Prince Edward Island’s Amanda Power picked up a single point in the 10th end for a 7-6 win over New Brunswick’s Melodie Forsythe. 

Earlier in the day, B.C.’s Taylor Reese-Hansen earned an 11-4 win over Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin and Saskatchewan’s Jolene Campbell edged Nicky Kaufman of the Northwest Territories 6-5.

Round-robin play continues through Thursday night and the final is scheduled for Sunday. 

The winning team will represent Canada at the world women’s curling championship in March at Calgary.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2026.