But when it came time for her final draw attempt of the tournament an extra end of the championship final against Ontario’s Rachel Homan, even she had to feel a bit of pressure – and only in part because her draw to win outright an end earlier had slid a few inches too far and led to a steal of two.
But this time, Einarson was money.
And with third Val Sweeting calling line, lead Briane Mielleur and second Shannon Birchard sweeping, the shot settled nicely in the four foot, giving Einarson an 8-7 win and her first ever Scotties Tournament of Hearts championship on Sunday night at Mosaic Place.
“This means absolutely the world to me, I really wanted to do this for myself and my teammates and especially Val, she’s lost two big finals,” a teary Einarson said shortly after celebrating with her teammates. “We really put it together this week and I’m so proud of everyone… if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where I’d be today. They’re such great teammates and supporters, all those shots we made out there were because of them. The sweeping, the line calling, I just absolutely love my teammates.”
It looked in the early going as if not only would an extra end not be needed, the two teams might have been shaking hands early, as Einarson – who was named the tournament’s MVP during the closing ceremony – roared out to a 7-3 lead through eight ends.
But when your opponent is Rachel Homan, even that kind of an edge wasn’t safe.
Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Joanne Courtney and lead Lisa Weagle would pick up their deuce in the ninth and played a near perfect 10th to force Einarson to the aforementioned draw for the win.
Despite curling 92 per cent at the time of the shot, she would come in a touch heavy, giving Homan the steal and forcing the extra.
That comeback was a source of pride for the three-time former Scotties champion, even if it ultimately came up short.
“We fought to the end, it means we’re right there, and that’s curling, it’s a game of inches and a game of one shot here and there,” Homan said. “We’re excited that we were right there, and one shot here or there and it could have been us. There are a lot of teams who would have loved to have been here, so I’m really proud of the girls that we battled right to the end and made her throw her last one… so it was a great game and they’re going to be great representatives for Canada.”
Homan kept things interesting in the extra end, too, but Einarson had been a quick study all week on the Mosaic Place ice, and when it came time for the ‘one shot to win it all’, she was ready.
“I knew it was going to be close, I threw a few draws and with my outturn I knew that weight, so I just really dialed in, took my time and really focussed and let my sweepers take it over,” Einarson said.
A few seconds later, they were Scotties Tournament of Hearts champions.
It didn’t take long for the conversation to turn to Sweeting, who had lost the final in back-to-back Scotties in 2014 in Montreal and the last time the Scotties was in Moose Jaw in 2015, and then again in the Mixed Doubles Olympic Curling trials in 2018.
To say the least, it was a sweet win for the Maryfield product and University of Saskatchewan grad.
“It means so much, it’s just an honour to be Team Canada,” Sweeting said. “I’ve had quite a few heartbreaking finals losses, so I definitely needed that. It just shows that you have to keep getting back up and I’m so proud we have a chance to wear the Maple Leaf.”
Einarson will now represent Canada at the 2020 World Curling Championships in Prince George, B.C. beginning Mar. 14.
