'They’ve bought in’: Rock League competitiveness picking up as playoffs loom

Frontier’s Stefania Constantini returned to Rock League Thursday in Toronto after a 16-hour trip home to Italy.

It was like she never left.

“We had her jersey out with us [while she was away],” teammate Grant Hardie said. “Anyone who was struggling with draw weight touched Steffi’s jersey. So it’s good that she stepped up and kind of answered that as well.”

Indeed, Constantini returned at just the right time for Frontier, which improved to 2-3 on the week thanks to a 2-1 win over Northern United on Friday that came down to the women’s game.

Constantini entered the seventh end down 6-2, but things stacked up in her direction. Armed with hammer, the Italian stared down a draw to the button for four — thanks in part to a rule making any stone covering the pinhole in the final end worth two.

All the while, longtime rivals Bruce Mouat and Yannick Schwaller — now teammates with Northern — gathered on one side of the sheet to talk strategy. Across the ice, Hardie and GM Chris Plys put their heads together.

Constantini nailed the shot, forcing a draw-to-the-button tiebreaker. Then, she nailed it again. The crowd of hundreds roared louder than it has all week.

And just like that, Frontier flipped a potential loss on its head, picking up a critical victory to keep its playoff hopes alive.

“When you’re asked to be part of this league, it’s moments like that you’re playing to try to enjoy. Myself and Chris were there, trying to give advice tactically as well and we just had that feeling that Stef was going to put it in the right place,” Hardie said.

Nic Sulsky, CEO of The Curling Group, which owns Rock League, agreed.

“Those are the types of things you want to see when you go to a great sporting event, when you go to a great