 Chelsea Carey (Photo: Anil Mungal/GSOC) will be looking for her first Saskatchewan Scotties title with her team this week in Assiniboia. By: Cameron Sallaj The Viterra Saskatchewan Scotties get underway Wednesday in Assiniboia. The event will feature twelve teams all vying to represent Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Arguably, the biggest contender to win right now is Chelsea Carey and her new team out of Regina. Carey was left without a team following the 2019-20 season and linked up with the former Stephanie Schmidt team for the 2021-22 season. Her lineup also includes third Jolene Campbell, second Steph Schmidt, lead Jennifer Armstrong, and alternate Rachel Erickson. So far this season, Team Carey has posted an impressive 28-13 win/loss record and currently rank seventh on the CTRS points list, first of all Saskatchewan teams. In their seven events played, the Carey rink has qualified in six of them, only missing the playoffs in a stacked field at the Alberta Curling Series: Saville Shoot-Out. They won the Craven SPORTS Services Curling Classic in late September and made the semifinals at the Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic, SaskTour Women's Moose Jaw and the DEKALB Superspiel. They have even picked up wins against the likes of Rachel Homan, Jennifer Jones, and Jamie Sinclair in their first season together. Against Saskatchewan teams this season, Team Carey is currently 15-2 which is why they are one of the favorites heading into provincials. Other than Carey, another team that has had great success so far this season is the Penny Barker rink out of Moose Jaw. Barker won the 2017 Saskatchewan Scotties Tournament of Hearts, however, has altered her lineup slightly since her 2017 win. Barker's lineup now consists of third Christie Gamble, second Jenna Enge, and lead Danielle Sicinski, the only member of Barker's winning team from 2017. Enge formely played with Tracy Fleury and her team out of Northern Ontario, which won two Northern Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts and one Ontario Scotties in 2012. Barker is currently 20-11 on the season in their six events played, however, the team has qualified in four events and won two back-to-back tour stops in Moose Jaw and Weyburn. The team also qualified for the Home Hardware Pre-Trials where they went 3-3 through the round robin, just missing the playoffs by a single game. Despite not winning the event since 2017, Penny Barker and her new rink have been on a roll this season and have a chance to pull out the provincial title this week in Assiniboia. Another team to keep an eye on in this Saskatchewan field is the two-time defending champion Robyn Silvernagle team out of North Battleford. Despite winning the event in both 2019 and 2020, Silvernagle's former team disbanded following the 2019-20 season with both Stefanie Lawton and Kara Thevenot stepping back from competitive curling. Silvernagle, along with second Jessie Hunkin then brought on former Canadian junior champion Kristen Streifel along with Dayna Demers to play third and lead respectively. This season, Silvernagle and her team are 20-16, however, the team did have to play their first two events without skip Robyn as she was on maternity leave. Although they struggled to begin their season, Team Silvernagle has qualified for the playoffs in their last four events, including a win at the SaskTel Curling Stadium Swift Current Women's Spiel. With Jessie Hunkin skipping, the team lost in the final of the Canadian Curling Pre-Trials Direct-Entry Event to Jill Brothers, just one game short of advancing to the Pre-Trials in Liverpool. Despite their inconsistencies at the start of the season, Team Silvernagle have found their rhythm in their recent events and have a great chance at repeating as champions at the 2022 Viterra Saskatchewan Scotties. Along with the front-runners, there are many wily veteran skips who will pose as a challenge. Saskatoon's Sherry Anderson, Regina's Michelle Englot, and Kronau's Amber Holland have all won the Saskatchewan Scotties before. Holland also won the most recent tour stop, the DEKALB Superspiel, and will look to carry that momentum into the provincial championship. The twelve teams at the Viterra Saskatchewan Scotties will play in a triple knockout bracket to determine four teams that will qualify for the playoff round. In the first games, Regina's Jessica Mitchell will take on Saskatoon's Ashley Howard with the winner going up against number one seeded Chelsea Carey. Amber Holland awaits the winner of Michelle Englot and Saskatoon's Krista Ellingson. Biggar's Brett Barber meets up with Regina's Lorraine Schneider while Sherry Anderson battles Regina's Stasia Wisniewski in draw 1. The winners of both matches will advance to play Penny Barker and Robyn Silvernagle respectively. The 2022 Viterra Saskatchewan Scotties get underway Wednesday, January 5th at the Assiniboia Curling Club in Assiniboia. Games throughout the week will be streamed on the CURLSASK YouTube page. SCORES and BRACKETS at www.CurlingZone.com. |
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Matt Dunstone (Photo: Curling Canada) and his Winnipeg-based squad begin play at the CO-OP Tour Challenge in Nisku, Alta.
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