By Adam Laskaris
In the final Scotties Tournament of Hearts of the quadrennial, Kaitlyn Lawes’ rink is finally finding their groove at the right time.
On Saturday, Lawes’ Manitoba-based rink came through with a 10-2 win over Kerri Einarson’s squad in the 1-2 page playoff game to earn a direct berth in the final.
“Really, really just thrilled to have this opportunity,” Lawes said to a group of reporters in Mississauga.
A score of four in the first end set the tone for the big win.
“We’re very confident, but obviously, so grateful to be able to beat them. They are a great team... we just came out firing,” Selena Njegovan said.
Lawes last played in a Scotties final in 2015, coming out on top while playing third on Jennifer Jones’ rink. (Though she was a member of the 2018 squad that won a title, she was busy preparing for the Pyeonchang Olympics as a mixed doubles player, similar to the absence of Jocelyn Peterman this week, who has been replaced by Laura Walker.)
“It's been an incredible week, and we're continuing to just build and learn and really proud of everyone's efforts. The team in front of me is playing so well and making my shots easy,” Lawes said.
While a team with a two-time Olympic gold medallist at the helm might have been expected to put up big results, it’s no secret that much of the last four years hasn’t worked out as planned for Lawes’ group.
At the Scotties in 2023 they missed out on a playoff berth in the tiebreaker to Christina Black, in 2024 lost in 3-4 qualifier to Selena Sturmay, and in 2025 went 4-4 and missed the playoffs entirely
“This team's been through a lot these last four years, becoming moms together, and I feel like we've been really close,” Lawes said.
The tough losses haven’t been exclusive to the Scotties, as a 4-3 round robin while losing out on tiebreakers once again to Black wasn’t good enough for a playoff berth at the Canadian Olympic Trials this past November.
On the Grand Slam circuit, the team made the final of the 2023 HearingLife Tour Challenge and the playoffs of three other events, but were unable to come away with any major victories in the quad.
“We just haven't been able to find success, but we've hung in there. And I feel that's huge for a team to stick through those tough times, and we've really supported each other in those moments,” Lawes said.
Even within the last two months, the team fell in the Manitoba provincial playdown final to Beth Peterson’s rink in January, as well as the Tier 2 final of the HearingLife Canadian Open in December to Taylor Reese-Hansen’s squad.
A shot at becoming Canadian curling champions with a shot at representing the country on the world stage would help ease a lot of those tough losses, however.
“We've worked so hard to be here. And I'm just so happy that we get to compete tomorrow in the final all together,” Njegovan said.
Team Lawes awaits the winner between Einarson and Sturmay’s teams, with the semifinal set for 1 p.m. ET and the final set for 7 p.m. ET.
As for how Lawes plans to approach the final? “Just keep doing what we've been doing, and hopefully we can put together 10 or 11, great ends of curling tomorrow,” Lawes said.
Lead photo by Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver
