SASKATOON — Taylor Reese-Hansen couldn't believe she had captured the HearingLife Canadian Tier 2 women's title.
Trailing by two points without the hammer after six ends, Reese-Hansen's team from Victoria kept plugging away against Winnipeg's Team Kaitlyn Lawes during Sunday's final.
How's this for a plot twist: Reese-Hansen stole points in the seventh, eighth and extra ends to win 6-5.
It hadn't set in even after the game had ended and the trophy had been presented.
"Still in shock a little bit," said Reese-Hansen, whose team includes third Megan McGillivray, second Kim Bonneau and lead Julianna Mackenzie. "We honestly didn't bring our best game today, but we just kept battling and fighting through and made a couple of clutch shots towards the end there. We're very happy to walk away with the win today."
New for 2025, the HearingLife Canadian Open expanded to include Tier 2 men's and women's divisions, providing the next-ranked teams the opportunity to compete against their peers for valuable points. While the event started up the road at the Martensville Curling Club in Martensville, Sask., both finals were played alongside the Tier 1 finals on arena ice at Merlis Belsher Place.
"Yeah, it's really cool," Reese-Hansen said. "I think Kim mentioned, she's like, ‘We're going to be the first name on the trophy,’ so that's super cool.
"It's amazing. As a team that's kind of like middle-high in the rankings, this Tier 2 means a lot for us. Just being able to compete against similarly ranked teams and just compete against our competition out there, so it really means a lot. We're just really happy to come out with a win today."
It was a crazy one in the men's final, too, as Norway's Team Magnus Ramsfjell fended off Switzerland's Team Michael Brunner 9-6.
"That's incredible," said Ramsfjell, whose lineup features third Martin Sesaker, second Bendik Ramsfjell and lead Gaute Nepstad. "The Grand Slams are always great events, the Tier 1s and the Tier 2s we've played, and this was a special one. First Tier 2 of the HearingLife, so it feels great to win it."
Ramsfjell jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with a deuce in the first and a steal in the second.
After deuces were wild back and forth, Brunner scored four in the fifth end to jump ahead 6-5.
Ramsfjell recovered and responded with a three-count in the sixth to reclaim the lead and tacked on a stolen point in the eighth end as Brunner was unable to get the equalizer.
"Yeah, that was a wild game," Ramsfjell said. "We started off playing really well. The great first ends, and then we had one end where we started missing a bit. They really jumped on that opportunity and forced us to miss a couple of stones.
"Luckily, we got straight back in the sixth and the heart rate settled down a bit. Then it was easier sailing from there than the fifth end, that's for sure."
The title wins couldn't have come at a better time for both teams.
Reese-Hansen entered the week at No. 5 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) with 109.275 points thanks to a breakout season on tour, reaching five finals so far.
With two-time defending champ Rachel Homan not playing in next month's Scotties Tournament of Hearts due to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, Kerri Einarson will compete as Team Canada in the national women's curling championship. Einarson had already pre-qualified for a spot based on last season's points, which has now opened up that berth to the highest-ranked CTRS team following the conclusion of provincial/territorial playdowns.
Since No. 1 Homan and No. 2 Einarson already accounted for, winning the Tier 2 was key for Reese-Hansen to get closer to leapfrogging No. 3 Serena Gray-Withers (133.225 points) and No. 4 Kayla MacMillan (117.675 points). It's a nice thing to have in the back pocket, should provincial playdowns not go their way.
All three teams were in action at the Tier 2, with Reese-Hansen eliminating Gray-Withers in the quarterfinals and MacMillan missing the playoffs.
Playing in her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts is something Reese-Hansen has her sights set on.
"The big thing that the team is working towards this year is we want to go to the Scotties," said Reese-Hansen, who is also No. 26 in the world rankings. "Every time we get to play in a final, and especially on arena ice, it's just more experience and building towards winning our provincial championship in a couple of weeks here."
Ramsfjell, who will represent Norway in the Winter Olympics, said his team had been struggling against those ranked lower than them as they slipped from No. 14 in the world at the start of the year to No. 19. The Tier 2 title win should give them a boost of confidence before heading to Cortina.
"It's very nice to show that we can play really well and consistently against all teams now," Ramsfjell said. "I had a great game in the final here as well."
