Before this week's Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Emma Miskew had curled one game in 27 years without Rachel Homan.
Now, with Homan representing Canada in mixed doubles at the Beijing Olympics, Miskew is not only curling without her longtime teammate, but filling in for Homan as skip of the Wild Card 3 team from the Ottawa Curling Club at the Canadian women's championship in Thunder Bay, Ont.
"It's starting to be a little bit less weird every game,'' Miskew said Sunday after improving to 2-1 with an 8-5 win over Northern Ontario's Krista McCarville (2-1).
"I'm still definitely outside my comfort zone but the team's playing great in front of me and every game is just getting a little bit easier.''
In another Pool A match Sunday afternoon, the Wild Card 1 team from Manitoba (2-1) with Selena Njegovan skipping for Tracy Fleury stole six points over four ends for a 9-1 win over Suzanne Birt of P.E.I. (1-2).
"I wouldn't say it was our game plan,'' second Liz Fyfe said of the steals. ``We're taking advantage of the opportunities when we're getting them. They struggled a little bit and we kind of put pressure on them and came out with some solid points.''
Fleury has been forced to isolate due to a positive COVID-19 test.
In other games, Andrea Crawford of New Brunswick improved to 3-0 with a 6-3 win over Brigitte MacPhail of Nunavut (0-3) while Saskatchewan's Penny Barker (1-1) earned an 8-6 win over Sarah Hill of Newfoundland and Labrador (0-2).
In Pool B play Sunday night Kerri Einarson’s Team Canada from Gimli, Man., improved to 3-0, using an 8-5 win to hand Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges (2-1) her first loss.
“This is where we want to be,” Einarson, the two-time defending champion, said about her perfect record. “We are just taking it one game at a time.”
In other evening matches Mackenzie Zacharias of Manitoba (2-0) scored four in the first end then three in the seventh for a 12-3 win over Hailey Birnie of the Yukon (0-2). Nova Scotia’s Christina Black (2-1) scored five in the second end for a 9-3 win over former teammate Mary-Anne Arsenault of B.C. (0-3).
Also in the evening session, Alberta’s Laura Walker (2-1) stole three in the eighth end but still needed a takeout on her final stone for a 9-7 win victory over Ontario’s Hollie Duncan (0-3).
In eight previous trips to the Scotties, Homan and Miskew have never finished lower than third. They've won the Canadian championship three times, were world champions in 2017 and competed at the 2018 Olympics.
Stepping in as skip this week Miskew, a 32-year-old industrial and graphic designer, knows she is filling some big shoes.
``I don't think we have a different game,'' she said. ``For the most part we're going to a similar plan that we have when Rachel is here.''
Miskew's rink trailed 2-0 after the opening end against Northern Ontario but battled back with a single in the second, then a steal of one in the third before stealing another three in the fourth.
With Miskew skipping, Sarah Wilkes moves to third while Joanne Courtney remains lead. Alli Flaxey, the third for Jacqueline Harrison's rink, has been added as second but holds the broom when Miskew throws. That allows Wilkes and Courtney to remain as a sweeping tandem.
With the team still meshing, Miskew plans to keep things conservative early in the week.
``Alli is new so I'm learning how she throws,'' she said. ``We just want to make sure we're not getting ourselves into too much trouble calling aggressive shots and not knowing where to put the broom.
``We'll learn, and as the week goes on, I'm sure get a little more confident in our game plan.''
Wilkes said communication is important.
``The biggest adjustment is just making sure we keep our communication tight so we're able to get the most out of every shot,'' she said.
Flaxey said she's been welcomed onto Homan's team.
``They're helping me along,'' she said. ``I'm just trying to show up and do what I can do to fill a hole for them.
``They've been supportive to me through the whole way.''
New Brunswick leads Pool A with a 3-0 record, followed by Miskew’s Wild Card 3, Fleury’s Wild Card 1 and Northern Ontario all at 2-1. Saskatchewan and Wild Card 2 skipped by Chelsea Carey are 1-1. P.E.I is 1-2, Newfoundland and Labrador 0-2 and Nunavut 0-3.
Team Canada leads Pool B at 3-0, followed by Manitoba 2-0, then Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta at 2-1. The N.W.T. is 1-1, with the Yukon 0-2, then B.C. and Ontario 0-3.
The competition to crown the Canadian women's curling champion is being held at the Fort Williams Gardens. Due to COVID-19 concerns the event is being staged in an empty arena without fans or media in the building.
This year's tournament features a modified 18-team draw and the return of the Page playoff system.
The two pools of nine are seeded based on their final standing on the Canadian Team Ranking System as of Jan. 10. There will be an eight-game round robin with the top three teams in each pool advancing to an expanded Page playoff system.
The Scotties champion will represent Canada at the 2022 Women's Curling Championship in Prince George, B.C., from March 19-27.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2022.
The Canadian Press
