News National

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan has qualified for the playoffs at a Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event for the 18th consecutive time.

Homan eased into the Boost National women’s quarterfinals with a 3-0 record and a game in hand thanks to a 10-2 rout over Allison Flaxey of Caledon, Ont., during Draw 8 Thursday. Flaxey, who defeated Homan in the Masters women’s final in October to win her first Grand Slam title, fell to a 1-2 round-robin record and is now on the brink of elimination.

Team Homan third Emma Miskew said it’s pretty cool having advanced 18 times in 18 appearances in the series although the number actually wasn’t on her mind. 

“We don’t really think about it that way,” Miskew said. “In all of our events, we’re trying to qualify whether it’s a Slam or provincials or any other event. We’ve had a pretty good track record qualifying in any event we’ve played in over the last few years with this team. … We’re not thinking about, ‘Oh we’re going to ruin our record.’ We’re just thinking about playing our game and trying to win all the games we can out there.”

The defending champion Homan started with the hammer and made an open hit for a deuce in the first. Flaxey sat shot prior to her last in the second, but with a crowded house she wasn’t able to get two and settled for just the single. Team Homan sweepers Lisa Weagle and Joanne Courtney kept their last down the line in the third for a tap to add another couple of points with rocks around the rim of the button. Flaxey looked at two counters with her last in the fourth and made a little tap in for just one. 

“It’s nice to start off with hammer for sure. I was peeling and I rolled for a corner and that kind of gave us an opportunity, making sure I got a piece of that guard, and if we rolled over it was pretty good,” Miskew said. “Rachel made a great hit and roll so starting off with a two is always nice. We just put the pressure on enough that we were forcing.”

Flaxey had to take more risks from there and it didn’t work out. Homan capitalized in the fifth when Flaxey’s last went heavy to the back of the 12-foot circle leaving a wide-open draw for three to cushion the lead. Homan didn’t ease up either and put the pressure on in six as Flaxey wasn’t able to knock out all of the counters she faced, giving up a steal of three, and shook hands.

“Once it was 4-2 they kind of had to take some chances because at that point you have to steal a few points back,” Miskew said. “When they’re taking chances we can capitalize with a bigger end if they make any mistakes and that’s what we did.”

Meanwhile, Tour Challenge champion Val Sweeting of Edmonton also qualified at 3-0 holding on with a 5-3 win over Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg (1-2).

Sweeting was up one with the hammer coming home and faced two counters with her last. She knocked one out and rolled but held on for enough of the eight-foot circle to score.

“I had thrown that spot earlier in the game and it really curled if you got off the centre line,” Sweeting said. “I knew that it was a little bit over so it might run a little straighter. It was just a little bit wider, a little bit heavier but luckily it just hung on.” 

Sweeting has one more round-robin game to go Friday against recent Canada Cup winner Jennifer Jones and is looking to maintain the momentum. 

“We kind of felt pretty scrappy all season. To be 3-0 it takes that pressure off,” Sweeting said. “We still have lots of work to do. We still want to play well out there. The girls are playing great so it’s just a matter of keeping that going.”

In the men’s division, John Morris and his Vernon, B.C., moved up to a 2-1 record scoring two in eight end for a 7-6 victory over Scotland’s David Murdoch (0-3). Reigning world champion Kevin Koe of Calgary climbed to 2-0 scoring three in the eighth end to win 7-5 over Toronto’s John Epping (2-1). Edmonton’s Charley Thomas improved to a 2-1 record with a 5-2 victory over American (0-2).

NOTES: The Boost National is the third event and second major of the 2016-17 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season. … Round-robin action continues Thursday at 7 p.m. ET with television coverage on Sportsnet ONE. … The Boost National runs through to Sunday afternoon at the Essar Centre.