Going into her third-straight appearance at the Ontario Scott Tournament of Hearts later this month in Timmins, Kathie Jackson’s mindset has changed over the past year.
In her first two visits, the Fort Frances skip’s goal was to simply make the playoffs. But this time around, her sights are set a tad higher. Make that a lot higher.
This time, Jackson’s rink is looking to win it all.
“You have to make the playoffs but we’re there to win it all this year,” said Jackson, whose rink includes third Kim Beaudry, second Kelly Wagar, and lead Stacy Beacham.
“The last couple of years have been a learning experience but now it’s time to go for the gusto,” she stressed.
“We’re looking to make the playoffs for sure,” echoed Beaudry, noting the team has made changes to their delivery style this season. “I think we’re over the learning stage and now we have the attitude to [win] it.”
Jackson said the fact they’ve downed the likes of last year’s eventual provincial champ Kim Gellard and former world champ Marilyn Bodogh proves they can beat the big guns.
This year, they want to do the same but stressed the importance of beating the middle-of-the-pack teams. Teams they could–or should–beat.
And despite their 4-5 record and seventh-place finish at last year’s provincial showdown in Niagara Falls, Jackson feels they have the potential to do it.
“We have to pick up our games against [lower-ranked] teams,” said Jackson. “Let’s face it, you have to win it once to gain confidence.”
Jackson’s rink certainly appears confident heading into this year’s provincial playdowns, which get underway Jan. 25. And they should be after earning the second berth there with a dramatic 6-5 win over Peggy Taylor (Kenora) at the Northwesterns on Sunday in Geraldton.
Trailing 5-3 after seven ends, Jackson scored a pair in the eighth to tie the game. Then after the ninth was blanked, she stole one to cap the comeback victory.
But the turning point came midway through the fifth end when Jackson made a “crucial” freeze to steal a point with Taylor laying four. That gave the Fort Frances foursome a 3-2 lead rather than perhaps facing a 6-2 deficit.
“It was a very exciting win because I didn’t play well,” Jackson admitted. “I was struggling but the rest of my team curled well . . . they all played well.”
It was a must-win situation for Jackson, who had lost her first playoff game 10-9 to Lorraine Lang (Fort William) on Saturday in a battle of pool winners.
The win gave Lang the first berth at the provincials, and forced Jackson to meet Taylor, who had beaten Jackie Bonot of Stratton in the battle of second-place teams.
Ironically, Jackson’s trip to the provincials almost was thwarted in her first game at the Northwesterns. Tara Coulterman (Fort William) had a 9-0 lead after three ends but Jackson clawed her way back for a wild 12-10 victory.
“The first [game] was important after coming back from the nine-point deficit,” said Beaudry. “After the third end, we said ‘We’ll play one more [end]’ and then we scored some points and said ‘Let’s play some more’ and we just kept going.”
Jackson carried that momentum to a 6-2 victory over Taylor in her second draw, then trounced Pierette Lachance (Longlac) 8-2 before falling 9-3 to Sharon Rogerson (Port Arthur) in a game that didn’t affect the final standings in Pool #1.
Jackson, who finished pool play tied with Taylor at 3-1, was given the nod for top spot by virtue of her win over the Kenora rink during the round-robin.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
