Team Canada skip Kerri Einarson, third Val Sweeting and lead Briane Meilleur, left to right, celebrate after winning the Scotties Tournament of Hearts at Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont., Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Kerri Einarson’s Team Canada held off a late rally by Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario for a 9-6 victory to win her third consecutive Scotties Tournament of Hearts Sunday night in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Einarson’s rink hugged in celebration after the final stone.

Einarson took an 8-6 lead into the final end but McCarville had last rock. Team Canada buried a rock on the button early. It was touched by a Northern Ontario stone and another Team Canada rock.

McCarville tried a raise takeout with her last rock but failed to move the Team Canada stone, giving up the steal of one.

Einarson’s rink of third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur from Gimli, Man., advanced to the final at the Fort Williams Gardens with a 8-4 win over Andrea Crawford of New Brunswick during the afternoon semifinal.

Einarson, appearing in just her fifth Scotties, defeated Ontario’s Rachel Homan for the championship in 2020 and 2021. She lost in the 2018 final.

She joins an elite group of curlers who won three consecutive titles.

Saskatchewan’s Vera Pezer won three titles between 1971 and 1973 while Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones won championships between 2008 and 2010. Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia won four consecutive titles beginning in 2001.

McCarville and her rink of third Kendra Lilly, second Ashley Sippala and lead Sarah Potts, reached the final with a 9-8, extra-end win over Crawford Saturday night in a game she trailed by four points at one time.

Each shot from the hometown favourites, who curl out of the Fort William Curling Club, drew cheers and the clanging of a cow bell from a crowd of around 350 allowed into the building under COVID-19 protocols.

Trailing by three points in the eighth end, McCarville made a clutch shot to move two Team Canada rocks. When the dust cleared it looked like she might have scored three but a measurement left her with two, cutting the lead to 7-6.

Team Canada gambled in the ninth. Einarson opted to remove a Northern Ontario rock with her last shot, hoping one of her stones at the top of the house was biting the ring. She made the takeout, but a measurement showed the rock was outside the ring. Einarson took the point to lead 8-6 but lost the hammer for the final end.

The teams swapped points in the first two ends. Einarson used a takeout to score two in the third for a 3-1 lead. Facing two Team Canada rocks, McCarville drew to the four-foot for a point in the fourth.

In the fifth end Team Canada’s front end made some early ticks to set up an easy takeout for Einarson to score three and take a 6-2 lead. Einarson then just missed on a double takeout in the sixth end, leaving McCarville a draw for two points, cutting the lead to 6-4.

Northern Ontario managed to hold Team Canada to a single in the seventh. McCarville buried her last shot in the house, forcing Einarson into a draw that slid too far. Team Canada went ahead 7-4 but McCarville took back the hammer.

It was the second time McCarville reached the final in her ninth Scotties appearance. She lost the 2016 championship to Chelsea Carey’s Alberta rink and finished third in 2010.

McCarville finished the round-robin portion of the tournament third in Pool A with a 5-3 record. She defeated Tracy Fleury’s Wild Card 1 8-3 in Friday night’s opening round of the playoffs.

Einarson’s rink was a perfect 8-0 during the round robin before losing 8-6 to Crawford in Friday’s playoff. She bounced back to beat Fleury 11-6 Saturday afternoon.

Crawford and her rink of third Sylvie Quillian, second Jill Babin and lead Katie Forward finished the round-robin portion second in Pool A with a 6-3 record.

She advanced to the playoffs for the first time in her 10th Scotties appearance and hoped to be the first New Brunswick rink to reach the final since Heidi Hanlon lost to B.C.’s Julie Sutton in 1991.

“I wouldn’t say we met our expectations,” said Crawford. “We did our best and Kerri’s team played amazing. We had a hard time getting those opportunities for multiple (points). I’m proud of the team for the way we finished out this week.”

Due to COVID-19 concerns the round-robin portion of the tournament was held without fans or media in the building. A limited number of volunteers registered for the competition and junior curlers from the area were allowed to attend the playoffs.

The Scotties champion will represent Canada at the 2022 Women’s Curling Championship in Prince George, B.C., from March 19-27.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2022.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2022