News Tour Challenge

CHARLOTTETOWN — Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson picked up its first win in the HearingLife Tour Challenge on Wednesday.

Einarson, from Gimli, Man., topped Team Delaney Strouse of the United States 7-4 during Draw 6 action at the Bell Aliant Centre.

The first Grand Slam of Curling event of the season features a triple knockout format — with A, B and C Event brackets — where teams must win three games before they lose three to advance to the playoffs.

Team Einarson improved to a 1-1 record to remain in the B Event while Team Strouse dropped to the C brackets at 0-2 with elimination on the line.

Einarson also has a super spare this week as Dawn McEwen is subbing for second Shannon Birchard, who is recovering from a knee injury.

“It’s fun,” said McEwen, who stepped back from women’s curling in 2022 but has filled in on Team Einarson once before. “The girls are great, obviously, and I thought today we managed the ice much better and what to expect. I thought we had a pretty good game and it’s just fun to be out there in this environment.”

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HEARINGLIFE TOUR CHALLENGE: ONLINE STREAMING | TIER 1 RESULTS AND BRACKETS | TIER 2 RESULTS AND BRACKETS

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Although McEwen is regarded as one of the greatest leads of all time — winning Olympic gold, two world championships, five Canadian titles and eight Grand Slam titles with skip Jennifer Jones — she actually played second for a few years back in the day. McEwen said she was chatting with former teammate Lisa Weagle, who reminded her about that.

“It’s been so long I forgot,” McEwen said with a smile. “‘I like hitting, I don’t obviously practise it very much so I’m not quite as confident with it, but it’s been working so far and I feel pretty good. It’s been fun. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, just enjoying it.”

Strouse, who fell to the C Event at 0-2, led 4-3 until Einarson took control in the final two ends. Einarson capitalized after Strouse tapped her own guard to draw for a deuce in the seventh and holding on to steal a pair in the eighth.

“We were playing a few more draws and half-weighters,” McEwen said. “I think we had a good feel for how to throw them, what kind of weight to throw them and what to expect with the ice. We managed them really well and had some nice precise shots.”

Team Isabella Wranå of Sweden also stayed in the B Event after edging Edmonton’s Team Selena Sturmay 8-7 in an extra end.

Sturmay (0-2) fell to the C Event.

Meanwhile, Italy’s Team Stefania Constantini and Team Eun-ji Gim of South Korea are each one win away from qualifying for the playoffs undefeated in the A Event at 2-0.

Constantini handed Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan its first loss of the season with a 6-4 decision while Gim defeated Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller 7-4.

Homan and Schwaller, both at 1-1, are now in the B Event.

UP NEXT

Two more triple knockout draws are on tap Wednesday with Draw 7 at 4 p.m. AT / 3 p.m. ET. Tickets are available at the box office and online at tourchallenge.goigniter.com. Online streaming is available here at thegrandslamofcurling.com.

Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday at 12 p.m. AT / 11 a.m. ET.

NOTES

The HearingLife Tour Challenge features 64 of the best men’s and women’s teams from around the world split into two tiers. … Tier 2 winners receive invitations to the WFG Masters in January. … Eight teams in each division qualify for Saturday’s quarterfinals … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with the finals set for Sunday.