Laurie St-Georges’s eyes widened when informed that seven stolen ends in a single game at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was a record.
“I’m glad that I have a record now,” Quebec’s skip said Saturday. “I still feel like a rookie.”
In an 8-2 win over Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes in the tournament’s first Pool B draw in Thunder Bay, Ont., St-Georges stole a point in the first end, and after a blank second, took single points in ends three through seven.
Her team stole another two in the eighth before Lawes finally countered with two in the ninth, then shook hands.
“Just had to get rid of that dang hammer, I guess,” Lawes said with a laugh. “Just millimetres on the wrong side every time.
“Get the misses in every type of way out in one game. I still have a lot of confidence going forward, and I feel like I have a good idea of what we need to do for the next one.”
Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson opened with a 6-4 win over Brooke Godsland of Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba’s Kate Cameron doubled Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories 8-4 and Nova Scotia’s Christina Black was a 7-5 winner over Ontario’s Danielle Inglis.
Saturday evening’s draw was the second in Pool A. Defending champion Rachel Homan, Saskatchewan’s Nancy Martin, B.C.’s Corryn Brown and Alberta’s Kayla Skrlik sought their second straight victories to open the Canadian championship.
The 18-team field was divided into two pools with the top three in each advancing. The final four Page playoff teams emerge from that half-dozen.
In addition to $100,000 in prize money, the winner of this year’s event represents Canada at next month’s women’s world championship in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
Four-time Canadian champion Einarson’s steal of two in the fifth end was the only deuce of the game in her team’s victory over a tenacious Godsland squad.
The Hearts is Einarson’s second event with Karlee Burgess playing second for the injured Shannon Birchard. Her lineup had several substitutions this winter.
“We finally feel comfortable after a lot of changes this season,” Einarson said. “It’s been extremely tough on all of us.
“We just did the best with what we could, and now we have a consistent lineup going forward.”
Quebec’s opening win also marked the return of Lisa Weagle to the Tournament of Hearts.
A world and three-time Canadian champion lead with Homan until 2020, the 39-year-old Weagle joined St-Georges’ foursome and replaced Kelly Middaugh for this season.
“I never thought I would say that about the Scotties, but it really feels like home to be back out there on that ice sliding over the hearts with the big crowd,” said Weagle, whose last appearance as a player was in 2021 playing lead for Jennifer Jones in Calgary.
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Weagle also coached Lawes’ team in 2023 in Kamloops, B.C.
Weagle’s sister, Julia, is skipping Nunavut here but the siblings won’t face each other in the preliminary round because they’re in different pools.
“I’m a little disappointed more for my parents because now they have to go to every draw,” Lisa said. “It’s a lot of curling for them to watch.”
St-Georges, 27, is skipping Quebec at the Hearts for a fifth straight year. Her teams have reached the final six twice.
“Someone called me like a veteran, and I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m playing against women that have so much experience and I have so much to learn from them,”‘ St-Georges said. “So I still feel like a rookie … which is fine with me.”
The previous Hearts high of six stolen ends in a game was held jointly by New Brunswick (1987) and Manitoba (1985).
The St-Georges team shot 94 per cent Saturday and the skip 96 per cent to Lawes’ 50.
“We managed rock position very well,” St-Georges said. “This game, we had draw weight. We were always able to sweep it at the right place, and the angles were kind of on our side the whole game.
“This game, we just found that it was good to play aggressive.”