By Jonathan Brazeau
VICTORIA — Big Shot Kerri did it again.
Kerri Einarson brought the heat on her last shot of the seventh end, scoring four critical points that helped lift her Gimli, Manitoba, club past South Korea's Team Eun-ji Gim 8-4 Friday at the Co-op Invitational.
Einarson not only earned the win, but her club also qualified for the playoffs with a 3-1 record (nine points).
"It's awesome to not be sitting and waiting to see if we're in or not," Team Einarson third Shannon Birchard said. "It was a big win and a really great team game. I thought everybody played well and made the big shots when we needed to."
Trailing by one after giving up a steal, Einarson bounced back with the fastball that gave her team a 7-4 lead heading into the eighth end. Einarson then added a stolen point of her own in the eighth.
"You know what? I know she's always going to be close. She's a sharp shooter, and so those big shots, she's got ice in her veins from them," Birchard said.
"We all had to kind of buy in. We didn't really want to play as aggressively as we did in that seventh end, but just went with it. Everybody bore down and really focused on precision there."
It was an off-season of change for Einarson, who parted ways with third Val Sweeting, alternate Krysten Karwacki and coach Reid Carruthers just days after claiming the silver medal at the World Women's Curling Championship. Birchard and Karlee Burgess moved up to third and second, respectively, with two-time Olympian Jocelyn Peterman joining at lead and vice skip.
"It's not too different. I'm still sweeping, so I think there's maybe a little bit more weight in terms of importance on some of my shots and a few more must-makes if we're in trouble," Birchard said. "Just really it's a focus thing, and it's been fun getting used to it."
Wranå in, Homan out
It might not have been how Team Isabella Wranå drew it up, but the result was what the Swedish squad wanted.
Wranå clinched a playoff spot after escaping with an 8-6 win over Canada's Team Rachel Homan.
While Wranå moves on with a 3-1 record (nine points), the loss eliminated Homan's Ottawa club from contention (1-3, three points).
"I think we're playing better and better each game," Wranå said. "It's very fun playing there, so luckily for us it turned out all right this time."
Wranå drew for a deuce in the fifth end to take a 5-3 advantage; however, her freeze attempt in the sixth failed, allowing Homan to connect with an open hit to score three and take the lead.
Although Wranå was forced into a tying single point in the seventh that handed the hammer for the final frame, she stole two for the win after Homan's tricky angle raise attempt went sideways.
"I felt we played a really good game throughout the game except for like the sixth end. It wasn't even that bad, but Rachel made some huge shots there, and then my draw came up a little bit heavy," Wranå said.
"Then, of course, the seventh end wasn't the ideal blank situation for us, but we managed to get out there with less damage. Then the setup for the last end was just in our favour."
It's the first time Homan has missed the cut in a Grand Slam in almost two years, ending an incredible run of 14 consecutive playoff appearances, with seven title wins during that streak.
Zardini Lacedelli staves off elimination
Italy's Giulia Zardini Lacedelli proved her team could overcome a large deficit when they completed a 9-7 comeback victory over Denmark's Team Madeleine Dupont on Thursday night.
But could they do the opposite and protect a big lead?
Yes, they could, as Team Zardini Lacedelli defeated Japan's Team Satsuki Fujisawa 10-1 in the early afternoon draw.
Zardini Lacedelli finished the preliminary round at 2-2 (six points) to stave off elimination, while Fujisawa (1-3, three points) was eliminated.
"I think we had a great start, and we just kept on going," Zardini Lacedelli said. "My team played amazing, so I had very easy shots."
Zardini Lacedelli scored four in the first, but after erasing a four-point deficit the night before, was she nervous the roles had reversed?
"We were a bit scared," Zardini Lacedelli said. "We said, yeah, we need to be careful. But luckily we just continued playing our amazing game, and we got the win."
Zardini Lacedelli stayed in control, stealing three in the second and one more in the third. After Fujisawa broke the shutout with a single in the fourth, she shook hands when Zardini Lacedelli tacked two more points on the board in the fifth.
Now it's fingers crossed for Zardini Lacedelli as her team awaits its fate.
"We're just hoping and praying, and we'll see tomorrow," she said.
The playoff picture
Here's how it looks on the women's side.
• X. Schwaller (3-1, nine points) vs. tiebreaker winner
• Einarson (3-1, nine points) vs. tiebreaker winner
• Gim (3-1, nine points) vs. Hasselborg (3-1, eight points)
• Wranå (3-1, nine points) vs. Kang (3-1, eight points)
Tiebreakers
• Ueno (2-2, six points) vs. Miura (2-2, six points)
• Zardini Lacedelli (2-2, six points) vs. Pätz (2-2, six points)
Eliminated
• Reese-Hansen (1-3, five points)
• MacMillan (2-2, five points)
• Fujisawa (1-3, three points)
• Dupont (1-3, three points)
• Homan (1-3, three points)
• Nihira (0-4, one point)
