Jennifer Jones edges former teammate Kaitlyn Lawes to reach Manitoba Scotties final (2024)

It was the matchup everyone had been waiting for, a collision of the top two seeds, former teammates, and front-runners all week.

Article content

Article content

Article content

A packed house of curling fans in the East St. Paul Arena watched Jennifer Jones take on Kaitlyn Lawes, her long-time third, in the final draw of the championship round of the Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Saturday, with first place and a bye into Sunday’s final up for grabs.

The two 7-0 rinks didn’t disappoint, jamming the house with rocks one end, blanking the next, trading singles and deuces, deft shots and near-misses, until it came down to the last shot of the 10th end.

And what a shot it would have been had Lawes made it.

“Kind of a Hail Mary,” is how Lawes described the attempted raise, double-kill. “Hope to throw it as hard as I can and hit the right spot. And maybe if we sweep it a hair sooner, it’s made. A close one. Fun to play those.”

Article content

Article content

Alas, the raised stone went between the two Jones counters, leaving the eight-time provincial champion a steal of two for a 9-5 victory.

“It was a really hard shot,” Jones said. “You’re never sure how they’re going to come back on the angles. She just went through the hole. It worked out well for us.”

The loss relegates Team Lawes to a Sunday morning semifinal against team Abby Ackland, which defeated Beth Peterson 9-3 in a tiebreaker.

Ackland forced the tiebreaker with a 9-5 win over Peterson earlier in the day, squaring both teams’ records at 5-3 for the week.

Whoever emerges from Sunday’s semi will have their hands full with Jones, reinvigorated alongside the youthful Mackenzie Zacharias squad, last year’s surprise provincial champs from Altona.

Article content

One of the great skips in Canadian history, Jones took over the helm of the 20-somethings and hasn’t missed a beat.

“The team chemistry has been way easier than I ever imagined it could be,” the 48-year-old said. “We have a slight age difference — just a little bit — so I wasn’t sure if that would have any impact and how it would go. But I’ve felt so comfortable. They’re so easy to be around. They’re mature beyond their years and we’re having a lot of fun.

“We’re growing as a team every week… it’s really energizing and exciting for me.”

With Zacharias playing second, Karlee Burgess at third and Lauren Lenintine at lead — alternating from game-to-game with Zacharias’s sister, Emily — Team Jones is No. 3 on the Canadian team ranking system.

Article content

“We’re so excited. This is exactly where we wanted to be,” Zacharias, the former skip, said. “I mean, the first time around it was a little bit unexpected to go straight to the final. And now this time this is our goal to be able to go straight through to the final and get that chance to represent Manitoba, potentially, again. We’re thrilled.”

The teams were tied, 3-3, after five ends, 5-5 through eight, a deft Jones tap-back scoring a critical deuce in the ninth.

“Massive,” the skip said. “To go up two is so much different than just being up one. The girls swept it from my hand and made it perfectly for me.”

Still, there was no easy breathing until that final raised rock sailed through the house.

“It’s crazy,” Zacharias said. “We knew it was going be a tough game and it would come down to the wire and it sure did.”

Article content

So what’s the bye into the final worth?

It depends whom you ask.

“It’s worth a lot — we get to sleep in a little bit more, which is nice,” Zacharias said. “You get the hammer as well going into the final, so that always means a lot, too. And in those big games we’ll take any little advantage that we can get.”

Jones has done this the direct way and the harder way, and sees advantages to both.

“I always think sometimes it’s good to play in the semi,” she said. “But I feel like we’ve played a lot of games, so I’m actually quite excited to have a little bit of a good sleep and come out and really feel fresh for the final.”

As Jones’s third all those years, Lawes knows both roads to glory, too.

Getting that extra game on the centre sheet of ice, with no other games going on around them, provides some useful information.

Article content

At this stage, every nuance can make a difference.

There’s perhaps some team chemistry still to gain, too: her usual third, Selena Njegovan, has been unable to play this week because of her pregnancy.

That has put second Jocelyn Peterman at third, with fifth Jill Officer, another former Jones teammate, at second, with lead Kristin MacCuish.

As a new mom, though, the part about extra sleep no longer applies to Lawes.

“There’s no sleeping in with a newborn,” she said.

The semifinal starts at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, the final at 2 p.m.

pfriesen@postmedia.com

Twitter: @friesensunmedia

Article content