Scrambled Rock League teams learning to keep their frenemies close

For the first time since they were 11 years old, Canada’s Rachel Homan and Emma Miskew opposed each other in a four-person curling game on Thursday at Rock League in Toronto.

And while Miskew’s Alpine Curling Club emerged with a 6-1 win over Homan’s Maple United, neither emerged particularly thrilled with the outcome.

Homan spent around half an hour — an unusually long time — on the rink after the match, continuing to practise ahead of some crucial Friday games.

Meanwhile, Miskew almost felt badly about winning.

“I always want her to play well and it felt weird to play against her,” Miskew said. “I wouldn’t say it was my favourite thing I’ve ever done, but it’s part of the reality of being on separate teams here.”

On the sheet next door, German skip and Alpine third Marc Muskatewitz got busy clearing the house in the fifth end of the men’s game — until he noticed there were multiple shots still to play.

“Just a small brain fart,” said Muskatewitz, who refused to blame the scrambled teams and new format of Rock League for the error.

Earlier in the match — a 10-6 win for Alpine, which beat Maple 2-1 overall — his side made a separate error with a centre guard, nearly hogging the rock.

“We just got it over the hog line because both sweepers were watching the women, what they are doing. So it’s so nice to have this whole team sticking together and going for this win,” Muksatewitz said.

Curlers share their favourite part of Rock League

Through four days of Rock League, friends turned enemies, enemies turned friends and a mishmash of the world’s top curlers being thrown into the proverbial hockey coach’s line blender has become a major part of the intrigue.

Miskew noticed her Alpine teammates peeking over, and admitted to