Curling has always been an unusual sport when it comes to momentum.
You can win one draw in convincing fashion and look impressive while doing so, and only a few hours later find nothing but trouble from the first rock you throw and endure a tough loss.
For Penny Barker at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay on Wednesday, that was exactly how things played out.
And it couldn’t have come at a tougher time for the Saskatchewan representatives.
After giving up one in the first end to Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville, Barker would be unable to hit the scoreboard until the ninth, giving up steals in four ends on the way to a 6-2 defeat.
Barker and her Moose Jaw Ford Curling Centre foursome of third Christie Gamble, second Jenna Enge and lead Danielle Sicinski fell to 4-3 and as a result will need a win over Wild Card #3’s Emma Miskew in the afternoon draw Thursday combined with a McCarville loss to Wild Card #1 Selena Njegovan (6-1) to force a tiebreaker.
If necessary, that game will be played 8 a.m. Friday.
Barker blanked the second and third ends before McCarville picked up her first string of steals -- one in the fourth, two in the fifth and another in the sixth -- to lead 5-0. After Barker blanked the seventh, McCarville picked up another steal the following end and Barker would finally get on the scoreboard in the ninth with a deuce.
New Brunswick’s Andrea Crawford and Wild Card #1 Selena Njegovan are tied for first in Pool A at 6-1, with the top three teams advancing to the first round of playoff games.
Over in Pool B, Team Canada’s Kerri Einarson (7-0), Nova Scotia’s Christina Black (5-2) and Manitoba’s Mackenzie Zacharias (5-2) hold down the top three spots, with Northwest Territories’ Kerry Galusha (4-3) also having an outside shot at the playoffs.
