Issue 6 – Thursday, February 23, 2012 • An Official Publication of the Canadian Curling Association. Marie - France, Mais Oui! Quebec stayed on a roll Wednesday, winning their fourth in a row to raise their record to 6-3. Here, skip Marie-France Larouche talks options with third Brenda Nicholls. Sponsors of the Day MARCH 2-10 • REXALL PLACE See Sponsor Profiles on page 9 Page 2 HeartChart It was Quebec’s day Opening Rocks on Red Deer ice LARRY WOOD Kronau, Sask., both of whom split their deci- She reiterated that Red Deer seems to be Heart Chart Editor sions on Day Five of the championship. a talisman location for her. Larouche said the turning point in her run “I’m extremely happy about that. We Four-time Canadian champion Jennifer to date was a victory over Holland on Tues- play very well now and I think we gain more Jones of Manitoba was riding a four-game day night when she executed a double-kill confidence with every game,” she said. winning streak and a one-game lead atop on last rock and Holland gassed a follow-up Alberta’s Heather Nedohin of Edmonton the Scotties Tournament of Hearts standings draw to lose the verdict. and Becky Atkinson’s New Brunswick crew on Wednesday night. “We’ve had good preparation and headed into the final day with 5-4 records. But the story of the tournament heading sometimes there’s just one shot and when Here’s how the final round-robin draws into the last two-games-for-each-team today you make it all the momentum follows,” La- shape up for the playoff contenders: may have been slender Quebecois Marie- rouche said. France Larouche who also is on a four-win “I think that’s what’s happened for us. I’m Manitoba (7-2): 1:30 p.m. Quebec (6-3); skein as she attempts to match her best-ever just very confident in my draw weight and 7:30 p.m. Ontario (4-5). Scotties record (10-4) established the last my team is confident, too, because they are British Columbia (6-3): 8:30 a.m. P.E.I. (2- time the tournament was played at the En- coming around all the guards first. Today 7); 7:30 p.m. New Brunswick (5-4). max Centrium in 2004. we were very aggressive. We played two Team Canada (6-3): 8:30 a.m. Territories Larouche, with her new team of Brenda games with a lot of rocks in play.” (2-7); 7:30 p.m. Saskatchewan (4-5). Nicholls, Amelie Blais and Anne Marie Fil- Larouche had to develop a totally new Quebec (6-3): 8:30 a.m. Ontario (4-5); treau of St-Romuald, across the wide St. lineup this year. Her relatively untested 7:30 p.m. Manitoba (7-2). Lawrence from Quebec City, polished off front-end duet won 10 games at the Canadi- Alberta (5-4): 8:30 a.m. Newfoundland/ Saskatchewan’s Michelle Englot (4-5) of an Juniors two years in a row (2004, 2005) Labrador (3-6); 7:30 p.m. Nova Scotia (4-5). Regina 10-6 Wednesday night to finish one with Marie-Christine Cantin of St-Romuald. New Brunswick (5-4): 1:30 p.m. P.E.I. (2- game off Jones’s 7-and-2 pace at 6-and- “They are very good players,” said La- 7); 7:30 p.m. British Columbia (6-3). 3, tied with Kelly Scott of British Columbia rouche. “They finished fourth in Quebec last Quebec lead Ann-Marie Filtreau and defending champion Amber Holland of year.” Continued on Page 3 Our Country Rocks! Proud to support the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Today's Best Country Best Rock of All Time Thursday, February 23, 2012 Page 3 Continued from Page 2 Manitoba’s Jones, with Kaitlyn Lawes, Jill Offi- cer and Dawn Askin, remained at the head of the pack with a breezy 8-2 waxing of the Territories Kerry Galusha. “We’re in a good spot,” said Jones, who is rare- ly out of a promising position in this affair. “We control our own destiny. We have to win at least one more tomorrow and hopefully two. We want to end the round robin strong. “We just had one of her best games as a team. I feel we’re getting better every game which is ex- actly what you want to do. You want to be at your best at the end of the week.” In other late-shift encounters, Newfoundland’s Heather Strong picked up a spoiler role and ham- mered New Brunswick’s Atkinson 8-4 while Heath- er Smith-Dacey of Nova Scotia won her fourth of the week, 7-6 in an extra end over Kim Dolan’s Charlottetown side from Spud Island. Strong said the sight of the Black and Gold stirred memories of a last-round demise three years ago. “I remember playing Andrea Kelly and I think we were sort of in her position, right on the bub- ble, and she gave us a really painful loss in the last game of the round robin,” she recalled. “I was thinking about that going out there today. A little revenge, yes. We’re all friends but we’re all competitors, too. “We’ll try to do it again in the last games, go out and throw rocks and try to represent our province as best we can. Continued on Page 4 New Brunswick’s Rebecca Atkinson and crew looked good at 5-3 until Newfoundland/Labrador handed them a big loss Wednesday night. Page 4 HeartChart Smith-Dacey stays alive Continued from Page 3 flu, moved alternate Sherry Fraser to the “Sure this has been a disappointing week third position while Carter was taken to hos- for us. I’ve been here 10 times now and I pital for IV treatment. And the revamped know a lot of great beaches on which I could B.C. lineup performed well under the pres- be spending my vacation if I didn’t think we sure until Fraser flashed her last takeout on had a shot here. But that’s it. This is where a partially open Jones rock in the four-foot we’re at.” which left the B.C. skip wallowing the glue. It was steal-and-steal-alike on the after- Jones stashed a second draw in the four- noon slate. foot after Scott executed one runback but left Quebec, which wound up with a 6-5 win, her shooter guarding the Manitoba counter. stole singles in one, two and three. That left Scott facing a long runback double Touché, said Nedohin, who scored two in attempt. Her rock over-curled. four, one in five, and another in six and held Control shifted with practically every last a 4-3 lead heading into seven. rock until Jones narrowly missed a difficult Larouche blanked that, took one in eight cold draw to a corner of the four-foot for a and forced the Albertans to take one in nine winning deuce in the 10th end. But it shifted The Skip’s Best Shot. leaving Quebec down one with hammer big-time in overtime. coming home. “I don’t know, but I think that’s as tough a “I don’t mind giving up steals of one when challenge as we’ll get and it went down to I’m looking at a chance for three or four, I’m last rock,” Scott allowed. going to be greedy every time,” said Nedo- “So I’m very happy with where we are The creamy consistency of hin, whose voice seemed less strained. and if we have to continue with this same Amarula delights with lingering But, as has been the case for the past lineup I think we’ll be OK. few days, Larouche and her crew had draw “This is kind of hard on me as a skip, but subtle flavours of vanilla, caramel weight on the hips leaving Nedohin two op- its hard on everybody. There’s a lot of jug- and chocolate. tions with her last shot facing two Quebec gling going on and it’s tough in a week like counters. this. We just want to go out and perform our It appeared there was a thin-double pos- best and there are a lot of outside factors that Affirming its unrivaled taste, sibility which at worst might have sent the we’re dealing with right now.” Amarula Cream was recently voted game to an extra end, but Nedohin decided Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith-Dacey, fac- “Best Liqueur in the World” at the the shot wasn’t there. ing an uphill climb, won her third at the ex- Instead she tried to draw around the junk pense of Holland’s suddenly shaky Kronau, International Wine and Spirit out front but her rock moved over quickly Sask., outfit. Holland missed her second Competition. and on top of rocks behind which she was straight last-rock draw in a 7-6 loss. trying to hide. Alberta, meanwhile, shook off an uncer- “We still control our own destiny going into tain start and turned it around with four in the last day, so it’s thumbs up, that’s what we the eighth end to conquer Saskatchewan’s were looking for,” said Nedohin. Englot 9-8, and red-hot New Brunswick Holland’s outfit rebounded from two nudged Ontario rookie Tracy Horgan of Sud- sloppy losses in a row and unleashed wrath bury 6-5.