Joey Payeur
A Maritime excursion a year ago was not a postcard-worthy experience for Lisa Penner and her rinkmates.
They have different plans for their next visit.
As the third for Kenora skip Peggy Taylor, Penner now can lay claim to being a reigning three-time defending Northern Ontario senior women’s curling champion after the rink swept the best-of-three final against Geraldton’s Pina Luomala with 8-5 and 9-1 wins Saturday at the Kenora Curling Club.
Taylor, Penner, and lead Tracy Stasiuk have been part of all three title runs. Now with new second Arlene Wilcox, they will take another stab at capturing a national title when they represent Northern Ontario at the 2017 Everest Canadian seniors’ championships March 18-25 in Fredericton, N.B.
Taylor’s crew made it into the championship pool two years ago in Edmonton, where they tied for fifth.
But last year in Digby, N.S. was not so pleasant as Northern Ontario was relegated to the seeding pool after the round-robin and finished with an overall mark of 2-7.
“We want to do better than last year,” vowed Penner, the lone non-Kenora resident on the rink.
“It’s not necessarily that we curled bad,” she noted. “We had a lot of close games, extra-end games.
“But we certainly want to do better to be a strong representative for Northern Ontario.”
Taylor and Luomala also met in last year’s Northern Ontario final, but it was much easier to enjoy this year’s victory thanks to better health.
“This year, the big difference is none of us is sick with the ‘flu like last year,” noted Penner.
“We know [Luomala] but you still can’t take anyone lightly,” she stressed.
“You never take winning this for granted,” Penner added. “We had to work hard to get to this point.”
Penner admitted to hoping for more than a two-team field for the Northern Ontario playdowns in future years.
“I don’t know if it’s because of a lack of interest or players’ commitments to other teams that is leading to there being less teams,” she remarked.
“There is a lot of travelling involved.”
In the opening game Saturday morning, Taylor struck for three in the second but then gave up two in the third before scoring one in the fourth to make it 4-2.
The turning point came when Taylor stole three in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
“We were in control throughout the game and it was pretty much decided after the fifth,” said Penner.
The second game that afternoon was never in doubt from the start as Taylor scored four in the first and then stole three more in the second.
Luomala got one back in the third but Taylor added a deuce in the fourth to prompt handshakes.
“It’s pretty hard to come back from 7-0 down after two ends,” Penner reasoned.
“Not that it can’t happen with the four-rock free guard zone.”
Even though it wasn’t her own hometown, Penner said there still was pressure being the local favourites.
“Being in front of a familiar crowd means you get great support,” she remarked.
“But your nerves are a little tense as you want to make sure you do well.”
The national field is yet to be fully determined. But if recent years are any indication, there will be at least a smattering of entrants with provincial and national titles under their belts.
“We can play with them. We’re not intimidated,” Penner vowed.
