LONDON, Ont. — Rachel Homan and her Canadian club kept their unbeaten streak intact at the AMJ Masters.
Homan, who had already clinched a playoff spot, wrapped up preliminary play Friday evening with an 8-7 shootout victory over China's Team Rui Wang at the Western Fair Sports Centre.
The 17-time Grand Slam of Curling women's champion Homan (4-0, 10 points) opted to shoot first and landed right on the lid. Wang's shot slid too far as her team finished with a 1-3 record (four points) and was eliminated.
"Another exciting finish," said Tracy Fleury, who throws third stones for Team Homan. "It was a good game, good back-and-forth battle. Skipper had great draw weight, so that always helps when it comes shootout time."
During the preliminary round and tiebreakers at the AMJ Masters, teams draw to the button to determine the winner instead of playing an extra end. Teams receive three points for a regulation win (in eight ends or less), two points for a shootout win and one point for a shootout loss. Extra ends will return for the playoffs.
Homan had to rally after the fourth end when her last shot came up short. That allowed Wang to bounce her shooter off her own rock and roll in, removing the Canadian stone to score three points and take a 5-3 lead.
The Ottawa-based team rebounded right back with a draw for three in the fifth to retake the one-point lead.
After Wang was forced to draw for the equalizer in six, Homan had a chance to draw for two in seven, but attempted to make a double tap to score three. The risk was not rewarded as Homan's shooter missed the mark, sailing through untouched, and counted just the single.
Wang drew for just one in the eighth end to extend the match into the shootout.
It was the second shootout win of the tournament for Homan, who also edged Sweden's Team Isabella Wranå 6-5 Wednesday.
HASSELBORG, KIM QUALIFY
Elsewhere, Sweden's Team Anna Hasselborg (3-1, nine points) qualified for the playoffs with a 6-1 victory over Canada's Team Christina Black. The Halifax-based club (2-2, five points) needed one point to remain in contention and was eliminated from the tournament.
Already up 2-1, Hasselborg scored a deuce in the fifth, then stole back-to-back points in the sixth and seventh ends.
"I think the two last games have been really good," Hasselborg said. "We’re playing well and feeling the ice. I think winning right now is just figuring out the ice, and I think we’re doing that very well."
Hasselborg attributed that as the reason why her team struggled during a 7-2 loss to Team Xenia Schwaller earlier in the week, but bounced back with a 7-4 win over Team Kerri Einarson.
"I think it was mostly that we didn’t figure out the ice and really learned from that," Hasselborg said. "We had a really good team discussion afterwards, and I think from that we’ve just been upwards."
South Korea’s Team Eun-jung Kim cruised past Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini 7-1 and into the playoffs.
Kim (3-1, nine points) scored two in the first and stole one in the second for an early 3-0 lead. Constantini (1-3, three points) scored her lone point in the third. Kim matched with a single in the fourth, then stole one in the fifth and two in the sixth.
China's Team Xiaoming Xu edged Norway's Team Magnus Ramsfjell 7-6 in a shootout. Xu (2-2, five points) needed to win in regulation, falling one point shy of the cut to play at least another game.
Ramsfjell reached the playoffs with a 2-2 record and seven points.
BANANA-MANIA CONTINUES
A day after The Banana Bar Crawl descended upon the AMJ Masters, bunches of fans dressed in banana costumes continue to fill the stands and cheer for peels.
You can count Anna "Banana" Hasselborg as a fan.
"I love it, and since we love throwing peels, I think they should love us too," Hasselborg said with a laugh. "It’s a good match."
Fleury joined in on the fun, donning a banana costume herself to cheer on her brothers, Tanner and Jake Horgan, during their game with Team John Epping in the afternoon draw.
"They just bring such a great energy to the arena, so we like it when they’re here," Fleury said. "They were so friendly earlier today and let me dress up. It was lots of fun."
Although we have yet to see a chicken impression — has anyone in this arena ever even seen a chicken? — just remember, there's always money with bananas in the stands.
MEN'S TIEBREAKERS SET
Sweden's Team Niklas Edin will face Switzerland's Team Yannick Schwaller and Team Mike McEwen meets Team Brad Jacobs in an all-Canadian clash during Saturday's tiebreaker stage (8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT).
The winners will have a tight turnaround to the quarterfinals (11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT).
Canada's Team Matt Dunstone takes on Ramsfjell and Canada's Team John Epping plays Scotland's Team Bruce Mouat while Scotland's Team Ross Whyte and Italy's Team Joël Retornaz await the tiebreaker winners.
WOMEN'S PLAYOFF PICTURE FORMS
There are no tiebreakers on the women's side with the quarterfinals (3:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. PT) already locked in.
Homan faces Japan's Team Momoha Tabata; Hasselborg plays Wranå in a battle between Swedish squads; Team Silvana Tirinzoni takes on Team Xenia Schwaller in an all-Swiss showdown; and Kim collides with Team Eun-ji Gim in a matchup of South Korean clubs.
The men's and women's semifinals are scheduled for Saturday evening with both finals set for Sunday, taking place alongside the Tier 2 finals and GSOC Wheelchair Invitational medal games.
HOW TO WATCH
Tickets for the AMJ Masters are available at GSOCtickets.com with online streaming for all games at rockchannel.com.
Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ resumes with the men's quarterfinals.
