THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Laurie St-Georges' eyes widened when informed that seven stolen ends in a single game at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts was a record.
"I'm glad that I have a record now," Quebec's skip said Saturday. "I still feel like a rookie."
In an 8-2 win over Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes in the tournament's first Pool B draw, St-Georges stole a point in the first end, and after a blank second, continued the heist with single points in ends three through seven.
Her team stole another two in the eighth before Lawes finally countered with two in the ninth, then shook hands.
"Just had to get rid of that dang hammer, I guess," Lawes said with a laugh. "Just millimetres on the wrong side every time."
The previous Hearts high of six stolen ends in a game was held jointly by New Brunswick (1987) and Manitoba (1985).
Defending champion Rachel Homan, Alberta's Kayla Skrlik and Saskatchewan's Nancy Martin won Saturday evening to get to 2-0 in Pool A.
The early ends of the draw were interrupted when curlers complained of a greasy substance on their broomheads.
All four sheets at the Fort William Gardens were mopped by the third end. Teams were also given permission by the umpire to change their brush heads. Six of eight teams did so.
"It just looked like oil on the ice, and every time we swept it, there was just black all over women's brooms," Homan said. "So they mopped it, and most of it went away. They did great managing the ice. Some things happen. You adapt and move on."
Said Martin: "We traded (the brushes) out after two, I think, or three, which they said we could all do. Then, we just were looking at them after, and they're still pretty grubby, so not sure what that is."
Homan defeated hometown favourite Krista McCarville 10-7 of Northern Ontario in front of a full house of just over 3,000.
"We knew that was going to be a tough one. Some people cheering on our backswing for us to miss, but that's part of the game," Homan said. "They're excited. They want their team to win."
Skrlik, playing with a full team after vice Geri-Lynn Ramsay sat out their opener with the flu, scored two in the seventh end and stole a trio in the eighth in a 9-8 victory over B.C.'s Corryn Brown.
"Geri-Lynn's back, we had our original lineup back. Had to settle into things a little bit more and we finally got our mojo in the back half, switched around some rocks and we were able to figure it out," Skrlik said.
Martin defeated Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo 8-6. Martin made her Hearts debut as a skip this year, but she's also played in a pair of Canadian mixed doubles finals.
"I think it's just playing for a hundred years and playing a lot of mixed doubles, and playing last shot a lot. There's a lot of pressure at that mixed doubles. Usually you're shooting some pretty tough shots," said the 52-year-old from Wakaw, Sask. "The girls are what makes me so comfortable out there."
Alberta's Selena Sturmay joined Brown at 1-1 after an 11-4 victory over Nunavut's Julia Weagle (0-1).
In Pool B's first draw in the afternoon, Manitoba's Kerri Einarson opened with a 6-4 win over Brooke Godsland of Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba's Kate Cameron doubled Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories 8-4, and Nova Scotia's Christina Black was a 7-5 winner over Ontario's Danielle Inglis.
The 18-team field is divided into two pools with the top three in each advancing. The final four Page playoff teams emerge from that half-dozen.
In addition to $100,000 in prize money, the winner of this year's event represents Canada at next month's women's world championship in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
Quebec's opening win also marked the return of Lisa Weagle to the Tournament of Hearts.
A world and three-time Canadian champion lead with Homan until 2020, the 39-year-old Weagle joined St-Georges' foursome and replaced Kelly Middaugh for this season.
"I never thought I would say that about the Scotties, but it really feels like home to be back out there on that ice sliding over the hearts with the big crowd," said Weagle, whose last appearance as a player was in 2021 playing lead for Jennifer Jones in Calgary.
Weagle's sister, Julia, is skipping Nunavut in Thunder Bay. The siblings won't face each other in the preliminary round because they're in different pools.
"I'm a little disappointed more for my parents because now they have to go to every draw," Lisa said. "It's a lot of curling for them to watch."
St-Georges, 27, is skipping Quebec at the Hearts for a fifth straight year. Her teams have reached the final six twice.
"Someone called me like a veteran, and I'm like, 'Oh no, I'm playing against women that have so much experience and I have so much to learn from them,''' St-Georges said. "So I still feel like a rookie … which is fine with me."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2025.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
