THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Christina Black's deployment of a five-player rotation on her curling team, instead of the traditional four players and alternate, delivered Saturday in a playoff win at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Black's Nova Scotia team reached Sunday's semifinal at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø women's curling championship with an 8-7 win over Alberta's Kayla Skrlik.
Her second Jennifer Baxter abruptly leaving the game after the second end didn't rattle Black's Halifax foursome.
Marlee Powers, who rotated games with Baxter in Thunder Bay, Ont., and in the majority of other events this season, seamlessly stepped into the void with 83 per cent shooting accuracy.
With no warmup, Powers executed a hit and roll behind cover and a draw around guard on her first shots of the third end.
"Oh my gosh, she was amazing," Black said. "It wasn't like it was weird to have her out there. She's been out there most of the games this year. She's been in half the games this week.
"So for have her just come off the bench, it's not like it changes any dynamic or chemistry or anything. We've already had that all built up, so it's good."
Not good was a visibly upset Baxter stepping out of the game.
"All we're going to say is there was a family situation, a family emergency, and for family privacy, that's all we're saying," said coach Stuart Maclean.
When asked if Baxter would play in Sunday's semifinal, MacLean replied "I don't think so. I don't know for sure."
Black, whose Halifax Curling Club foursome includes Jill Brothers at vice and Karlee Everist at lead, will meet the loser of Saturday's later playoff game between defending champion Rachel Homan and Manitoba's Kerri Einarson.
The winner of the late game earns an express ticket to Sunday's championship game.
The champion at Fort William Gardens represents Canada at the world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
Black reached her first semifinal the third time she's skipped her province in the Hearts. She previously appeared in a semifinal as Mary-Anne Arsenault's vice in Penticton, B.C., in 2018.
Brothers made her first semifinal after seven tries playing for or skipping other teams. Once Black's provincial rival, the two women joined forces this season to create a formidable back end.
Black said earlier in the tournament that Brothers' extensive experience made her job as skip less mentally draining.
"It just feels like we know that we have the knowledge and the shots confidence to just go out there and do it," Brothers said. "I don't know if I've always had that in the past, so I think we just make a good duo at the back end.
"I trust that when we have a draw that she needs to get us out of trouble, done, she's doing it."
Black drew for a piece of the button in Saturday's ninth end to score three points and re-take the lead. Alberta was up 6-5 after a three-point eighth end.
Skrlik missed an attempt of a difficult quadruple takeout in the 10th to score two and force an extra end.
"We were so, so close on so many shots this game. Just the wrong side of the inch," said the 27-year-old Skrlik, who skipped a team to the final four in her second Hearts appearance.
"We have so much, so much to learn from this event, our draw to pins all the way right to the Page playoff, it's been fantastic. I don't think you can learn how to play those games until you're in them."
A subplot for both Black and Skrlik in the final four was their pursuit of an express pass to next year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Mississauga, Ont., as well as spots in November's Olympic trials in Halifax.
Teams collect points, weighted via strength of field, at events throughout the curling season that are reflected in the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Team Ranking System (CTRS).
The top three women's teams in the CTRS at the end of this season — April's AMJ Players' Championship in Toronto is the last event — bypass provincial championships for direct entry into the 2026 Hearts in Mississauga.
And should Canada's No. 1 Homan repeat as Hearts champion in Thunder Bay, the next three teams in the rankings gain a trip to Mississauga.
Skrlik and Black also closed in on berths in the Olympic trials that determine Canada's representatives in Milan-Cortina, Italy, in 2026.
Three spots go to three teams with the most combined points from both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Another berth goes to the team ranked first in just 2024-25.
Homan and Einarson already locked in for trials created a potential domino effect of berths falling to the next teams in the rankings.
Skrlik's team out of Calgary's Garrison Curling Club carried a rank of third this season, and fifth in combined points, into Thunder Bay.
"If I told you we didn't have a spreadsheet going, I'd be lying," Skrlik said. "We've tracked it like most of the year. Super important, two-year total, one-year total.
"We're looking for Scotties berths. We're looking for a trials berth. This means quite a bit for our season points-wise, and the points chase for all of our big goals."
Black arrived in Thunder Bay ranked fourth this season and seventh in combined seasons.
"I don't have it worked out completely. I don't have my spreadsheet open, but pretty sure that might lock us in for like, a pre-qualified spot at the trials, which would be amazing. It's in Halifax," Black said.
"And pretty close to potentially getting a berth back here next year, which would be absolutely amazing. If we could have a second Nova Scotian team, that would be nuts."
This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published Feb. 22, 2025.
