Cheryl Bernard in Feb. 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

KITCHENER, Ont. - Edmonton's Val Sweeting advanced to the women's final on Saturday with a 9-7 win over Calgary's Cheryl Bernard in the Page playoff of the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Olympic pre-trial.

Bernard gave up a steal of one in the sixth when her attempt at a raise takeout rolled too far, but she fought back with a deuce in seven to even the score at 5-5. Facing two Bernard counters with her last, Sweeting's takeout attempt rolled out, allowing a steal of two.

In the final end, tied 7-7, the same scenario replayed - in reverse. This time, Bernard had a shot for the win, but she rolled too far, allowing Sweeting to steal two for the win.

"I felt like a cat out there with nine lives," said Sweeting. "We had a couple of chances, but they had some chances to put the game away. The steal was unfortunate, but we knew we could battle back. Get our deuce back and keep it close, and that's what we did."

Sweeting will take on either Kelly Scott of Kelowna, B.C. or Renee Sonnenberg, of Grande Prairie, Alta. Those two teams will play in the first trials qualifying game later Saturday, with the winner going to Winnipeg and the loser facing Sweeting on Sunday.

"We've never been in this position before," said Sweeting, who skipped Team Alberta at the 2010 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. "It feels good to be one game away. We're still in it and it's totally in our control. We've just got to play well."

In men's C-Event semifinals, Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., powered his way to an 11-4 win over Jake Higgs of Glencoe, Ont. The 2006 Olympic gold medallist went up 5-0 after scoring three in the first and stealing two more when Higgs's final draw slid too far. The loss eliminated Higgs from competition. Gushue now faces Greg Balsdon of Elgin, Ont., in one of the C-Event finals Saturday afternoon.

In an all-Ontario playoff, Balsdon controlled the game most of the way over Mark Kean of Ajax, winning 9-7.

Rob Fowler of Brandon, Man., defeated Jean-Michel Menard of St-Romuald, Que., by a score of 6-4 and moves on to the C-Event final against Steve Laycock of Saskatoon, who lost 9-6 to Brad Jacobs on Friday night in the B-Event final. With the loss, Menard, the 2006 Tim Hortons Brier champion is eliminated from the competition.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2013