Joey Payeur
With two days of round-robin play remaining, a pair of local curlers still are in the hunt for a playoff spot at the Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thornhill.
The work of Devlin native Jenna Enge at second has helped Tracy Horgan’s rink from the Idylwylde Gold and Country Club in Sudbury get into a three-way tie for third in the standings after Day 3 with a 3-2 record.
Meanwhile, Stratton’s Jackie McCormick also is filling the role of second for Ashley Kallos of the Fort William Curling Club from Thunder Bay, whose quartet is in a three-way tie of its own for sixth place with a mark of 2-3.
The top four teams after tomorrow’s final preliminary draw will qualify for the playoffs, which begin Saturday.
Horgan opened the week in exciting fashion with a 10-7 comeback win over Lisa Farnell of Peterborough on Monday.
Farnell had scored a deuce in the seventh end to take a 7-4 lead. But Horgan struck back with a vengeance, notching a pair in the eighth and then pulling off steals of two in the ninth and 10th to pull out the victory.
In Draw 2 on Tuesday, Horgan fought tooth-and-nail in a 10-end war with Marika Bakewell of London before finally prevailing 7-6.
Horgan seemed unstoppable after disposing of three-time provincial champion Alison Goring of Georgetown 10-8 in Draw 3 later Tuesday.
But Horgan’s roll abruptly stopped in Draw 4 yesterday by Rachel Homan of Ottawa, who rolled to a 6-2 victory.
Homan, who was tied for first with Susan McKnight of Uxbridge at 4-1 heading into play today, played terrific defence throughout the game in never letting Horgan really get out of the starting block.
Krista McCarville, the second rep from the Fort William club, then borrowed Horgan’s philosophy of waiting until the end to get the job done in beating Horgan 8-4 in Draw 5 last night.
Meanwhile, Kallos also is looking to stop a two-game losing skid heading into today’s action.
The week did not get off to a promising start as Goring blasted Kallos 11-3 in seven ends in their opener Monday.
Kallos regrouped nicely Tuesday, however, to down Kristy Russell of Shelburne 6-2.
A wide-open game against Marlo Dahl (Port Arthur Curling Club) awaited Kallos in Draw 3 on Tuesday, with Kallos scoring two with the hammer to pull out the 8-7 triumph.
But McKnight stopped Kallos’ momentum in Draw 4 yesterday, building a 6-1 lead after four ends and then fending off Kallos’ rally to hang on for a 9-6 victory.
Farnell then made it two-straight defeats for Kallos later yesterday with a 6-5 decision.
Both Horgan and Kallos faced two massive games today with the playoff chase in full gear.
Horgan battled Dahl while Kallos took on Bakewell in Draw 6 this afternoon (the games were ongoing as of press time).
Then in Draw 7 tonight, the two district players will try to derail each other’s playoff aspirations as Horgan and Kallos face off.
The provincial champ will advance to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts national showdown Feb. 19-27 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
