One Win Away: Homan and Jacobs post wins in openers of best-of-three finals at curling Trials

Challenging ice conditions were a complication Rachel Homan managed to overcome Friday at the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.

The hurdle presented by her opposition’s steady play was one she nearly didn’t clear.

Homan’s top-ranked team from Ottawa barely survived a nervy 5-4 victory over the plucky Halifax rink skipped by Christina Black in the opener of the best-of-three women’s final at Scotiabank Centre.

“We knew it would be a battle and it was,” said Homan’s second Emma Miskew.

Down two with hammer in the 10th end, Black had a chance for a multi-point end but settled for a single. With five rocks in the four-foot ring, she tried to bump multiple stones but couldn’t nudge a Homan rock from the side of the button.

Game 2 is Saturday afternoon. Game 3, if necessary, will be played Sunday afternoon.

The Calgary rink skipped by Brad Jacobs beat Matt Dunstone’s Winnipeg team 9-8 in a high-scoring, back-and-forth men’s final on Friday night.

Dunstone trailed early but came back with a four-ender in the fifth end. He gave up a deuce in the sixth but drew for two in the ninth for an 8-7 lead.

Jacobs didn’t have to throw his final rock after Dunstone stunningly flashed a hit-and-roll attempt in the 10th end.

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“I still don’t know if we won that game, that’s kind of what it feels like,” Jacobs said. “But we did.”

The men will play Game 2 on Saturday night and Game 3 – if needed – on Sunday evening.

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With mild, drizzly weather outside the venue in the afternoon, an ice surface that was frosty at times and inconsistent at others made things difficult for both women’s teams.

Black started well with an opening blank before making a come-around to the button that forced Homan to tap for one. Homan stole a point in the third when Black was light with a draw against three.

“The ice kept changing and (it was) tough to keep up with, but I thought we stayed really tough together,” Homan said. “I thought we made a ton of shots and we were as precise as we could be.”

Another steal followed in the fourth when Black’s angle-raise was wide. However, the Halifax skip put a charge into the hometown crowd of 6,920 in the fifth end when she made a draw against three to get a point on the board.

“We just gave up those two single-point steals, and you just can’t let them get a lead,” Black said. “They’re so good. So, it’s like we need to keep the game just a little bit closer tomorrow and just give ourselves a better chance to pull it off.”

Neither team scored a multi-point end. Homan settled for a single in the sixth and Black was forced to one in the seventh before stealing a point in the eighth.

Black’s side pressed late and caught a break due to some errors from Homan’s foursome. Homan lead Sarah Wilkes threw through the house in the ninth end and her second shot was deeper than expected.

Homan vice Tracy Fleury was wide with a hit before an end-saving runback by Homan led to a single and 5-3 lead.

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Needing a deuce to force an extra end, a series of quality taps and freezes put several rocks in play in the 10th. Homan ticked a takeout attempt but Black’s first shot to adjust the angles didn’t change much.

“Rocks were getting cemented in there a little bit,” Homan said. “Definitely difficult to move around and be a little bit more precise. So, I thought my team handled it as (well) as we could and thankfully, we were able to pull out the win.”

Homan threw a guard with her last rock, leaving Black to try a shot that had potential to be a game-winner, but she couldn’t quite get enough stones moving.

“I just don’t think my shot was possible unless I could throw it a lot harder,” Black said. “We gave it a run though.”

Miskew threw a game-low 65 per cent. Both skips shot 74 per cent on the day.

Homan is a win away from making a third straight appearance at the Winter Olympics.

She skipped the Canadian women’s team in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea and competed in mixed doubles with John Morris four years later in Beijing, missing the podium on both occasions.

Black’s five-player team of Jill Brothers, Jenn Baxter, Karlee Everist and Marlee Powers, who sat out Friday, is playing in a Trials final for the first time.

Jacobs won Olympic gold in 2014 at the Sochi Games with a team that included Dunstone’s current front end of Ryan Harnden and E.J. Harnden. Dunstone and vice Colton Lott are playing in their first Trials final.

Jacobs vice Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert won Olympic gold in 2010 on a team skipped by Kevin Martin. Kennedy and Hebert returned to the Games in 2018 with skip Kevin Koe.

Brett Gallant, who throws second for Jacobs, earned bronze at the Beijing Games on a team skipped by Brad Gushue.

The winning teams this weekend will wear the Maple Leaf at the Milan Cortina Games in February. Gallant has already qualified in mixed doubles with Jocelyn Peterman.