Saturday, February 18, 2012

Let The Games Begin!



"Do you wanna get rocked?"

After weeks upon months of anticipation... the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts is underway here in Red Deer.

Firstly, kudos to everyone involved with putting together last night's opening banquet at the Sheraton (Lyn Radford and her crew did a fantastic job!). A wonderful time was had by all... and the free shots of scotch didn't hurt, too much :)

Today, it was all about getting off and running with the actual curling (yes, they tell me there actually some games played amidst all of the parties and beverages). And this afternoon's opening draw did not disappoint when it came to providing some early excitement. Team Canada (Holland) capitalized on a couple of missed shots by Newfoundland and Labrador to win 7-4. The other three matches all went to extra ends as Ontario beat PEI 7-6, BC beat Quebec 7-6, and NT/YT beat Alberta 8-7 in a game which had a pretty darn good ending.

Trailing by one point with her last shot in the 10th end, Alberta skip Heather Nedohin had an open shot to draw for one and force an 11th end. Instead, she tried and angle-raise in an attempt to tap out an NT/YT rock and score the deuce for the win. The shot didn't quite work out and Nedohin settled for the single... but I absolutely love the call.

"I thought we had a shot for the win" Nedohin stated following the loss. "We play to win."

The victory improved on an already fantastic day for NT/YT skip Kelly Galusha. Prior to her upset win over Alberta, Galusha won the Ford Hot Shots competition and a brand new car (with her big brother and Alberta champion men's skip Kevin Koe in the crowd). Pretty darn good day (heading into their game versus PEI anyway).

If today's opening draw is any indication... we are in for one heck of a tournament!

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