Quebec’s St-Georges downs Manitoba’s Einarson 9-6 in Scotties Tournament of Hearts

Quebec skip Laurie St-Georges delivers a stone during Scotties Tournament of Hearts action against Manitoba's Einarson in Thunder Bay, Ont., Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Rachel Homan's team remained unbeaten at the Canadian women's curling championship while Quebec's Laurie St-Georges contributed to gridlock in her team's pool Monday.

Defending champion Homan defeated Saskatchewan's Nancy Martin 9-6 to sit alone atop Pool A at 4-0.

"We've played some tough teams and good to get the wins out against those tough teams," Homan said.

Quebec's St-Georges beat four-time national champion Kerri Einarson of Manitoba 9-6. Quebec was tied for first in Pool B with Ontario's Danielle Inglis and Nova Scotia's Christina Black all at 3-1.

There were five teams with one loss in that pool, however, with Einarson and Manitoba's Kate Cameron both at 2-1.

"It's definitely not clear cut," said St-Georges' third Jamie Sinclair. "Yep, anything can happen."

The top three teams in each pool of nine at the conclusion of the round-robin Thursday advance to a round of six. The four Page playoff teams emerge from that half-dozen.

Sunday's winner of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., represents Canada at the world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea, and earns $100,000 in prize money.

Homan's vice Tracy Fleury posted a 99 accuracy percentage in the win over Saskatchewan.

"She played phenomenal. I didn't know she played 99," the skip said. "We couldn't have won that game without her playing 99. There were a lot of team shots out there."

Front end brushers Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes dragged Homan's draw for a nibble of the rings in the ninth end, which set up the skip for two points and a 9-6 lead coming home.

"It was a front-end deuce in nine. You don't hear that every day," Homan said.

Her Ottawa Curling Club foursome extended its streak of wins at the Hearts to 16 in a row dating back to last year's unbeaten run in Calgary.

B.C.'s Corryn Brown was 4-1 after a 10-3 win over Nunavut's Julia Weagle.

"We even could have been five and oh pretty easily too, so we're really happy with where we're at right now," said Brown, whose lone loss was a 9-8 decision against Alberta's Kayla Skrlik.

"We could still go up a notch. We still have lots left in the tank, which is good."

Martin dropped to 3-2 alongside Skrlik, who lost 10-4 to Northern Ontario's Krista McCarville.

The hometown McCarville rink received a rousing cheer at the Fort William Gardens when it ended a four-game skid, but the odds for a playoff spot were long after a 9-3 loss to Brown in the morning.

"We didn't really give the crowd to much to cheer about before this," McCarville said. "It felt really nice to do it for ourselves, but also for the fans in Thunder Bay."

McCarville was among a five-way tie of 4-4 teams in third in a pool last year in Calgary, but finished on the outside via the tiebreaker formula.

Head-to-head results are the first tiebreaker, followed by the cumulative last-stone draw distances that precede each draw. McCarville ranked eighth in LSD in Pool A as of Monday.

"We know it's a very slim outside chance with what's happening right now, but you never know," McCarville said. "We're just going to try and win our next game and that's all we can really do right now."

New Brunswick's Melissa Adams was tied at 2-2 with Alberta's Selena Sturmay after an 8-7 victory over Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo (1-3). Nunavut was 0-4.

In Pool B's afternoon draw, Northwest Territories' Kerry Galusha and Yukon's Bayly Scoffin were 1-2 after Galusha beat Scoffin 14-8. Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes fell to 1-3 after an 8-6 loss to Ontario. Brooke Godsland of Newfoundland and Labrador was winless in four games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2025.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press