Einarson downs Crawford to advance to Scotties final

Kerri Einarson will have a chance to win a third consecutive Scotties Tournament of Champions.

Einarson’s Team Canada rink scored deuces in the first, seventh and ninth ends to defeat Andrea Crawford’s New Brunswick rink 8-4 in Sunday’s semifinal at the Canadian women’s curling championship in Thunder Bay, Ont.

The two-time defending champion will play Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville in Sunday night’s final.

McCarville and her rink of third Kendra Lilly, second Ashley Sippala and lead Sarah Potts, advanced to the final with a 9-8, extra-end win over Crawford Saturday night.

Einarson lost 8-6 to Crawford in the opening round of the playoffs on Friday but kept her dream of a three-peat alive with an 11-6 win over Tracy Fleury’s Wild Card 1 rink on Saturday.

Crawford and her rink of third Sylvie Quillian, second Jill Babin and lead Katie Forward, finished the round-robin portion of the tournament second in Pool A with a 6-3 record.

Crawford advanced to the playoffs for the first time in her 10th Scotties appearance.

The last rink from New Brunswick to reach the Scotties playoffs was Heidi Hanlon who lost the 1991 final to B.C.’s Julie Sutton. The only New Brunswick rink to win a Canadian women’s curling championship was skipped by Mabel DeWare in 1963.

McCarville, making her ninth Scotties appearance, was third in Pool A at 5-3 following round-robin play. She lost in the 2016 final to Chelsea Carey’s Alberta rink and finished third in 2010.

Einarson and her rink of third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Bichard and lead Briane Meilleur from Gimli, Man., were a perfect 8-0 during the round robin.

The Scotties champion will represent Canada at the 2022 Women’s Curling Championship in Prince George, B.C., from March 19-27.

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