Carey Sets Sights on 2011 Season & Other Weekend Curling Notes

Chelsea Carey unveiled a new 2011 line-up this weekend in the CurlManitoba Women's bonspiel. Kristy Jenion joins the Carey team at third with Lindsay Titheridge and Kristen Foster on the front end. Obviously the line-up works as the team qualified unbeaten for the playoff round and won a pair before losing the final to Kerri Flett. Carey says it was a tough decision but said when one of the best skips in the province says she wants to play third for you, it is too good an offer to miss out on. Jenion says she felt like it was time to take a break from skipping and the Carey team has the same commitment she has to wanting to win at the highest level. The team plans to travel a lot to play the best in their quest of next year's Manitoba Scotties title.

One thing I did see in a game I watched Sunday was a smile on Jenion's face - not something that has been very common during her games over the past few years. Maybe this is what she has needed - and maybe this creates something that Manitoba has lacked for a few years, a second seriously competitive women's touring team.

You can hear the thoughts of both Carey & Jenion on RockTalk, Monday evening at 7pm on CFRW 1290.

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It was an interesting coincidence that the best team to NOT win a Scotties berth in 2010 has already won a Scotties berth for 2011.  It gives a very good team the opportunity to plan their entire year with the focus on being ready at the right time to win a Scotties trip. I know CurlManitoba would love that to happen as a way of underlining the need for teams to stick together and to plan their season to peak at the right time. On the other hand, for whatever reason, that didn't work out too well for Jennifer Jones and her team at the O-Trials. However, with the motivation of that week in Edmonton, I'm betting the Jones foursome could be dominant at the national Scotties this year.

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The best performance under pressure during the Winnipeg Safeway Zones this weekend had to be by David Kraichy. After a hit and roll on the ninth end forced the Nicholls team to draw for one (which was heavy resulting in a steal) Kraichy was in all kinds of trouble on the tenth until he called and made a difficult played a triple kill with his first rock.  With his second, Kraichy drew to nibble the four foot on the centre line to lie two and force Dean Dunstone to draw the four for one and a tie.

On a near perfect extra end, Dunstone drew wide in an empty house, hoping to get Kraichy to chase him. But Kraichy didn't even consider the hit - drawing to the four foot for a win. It will be a second trip to the Safeway Championship for Kraichy but the first for Jim Coleman, Brad Van Walleghem, and Rylan Young - in their first year out of juniors.

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Randy Dutiaume had a new experience this weekend in zone play - he was a competitor in rural manitoba for the first time. And this was not one of those...go to the country and win an easy berth...deals. Two of the Dutiaume four live in Stonewall so they were playing at home, in a zone with 12 teams - the biggest in the province this year. Dutiaume discovered the difference between being the big event in town where the rink is full for the weekend and playing in a Winnipeg zone where there is likely to be a smaller crowd watching.

You can hear his comments on RockTalk on CFRW Monday at 7pm on CFRW1290.

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Despite my efforts to be everywhere this weekend, I did not make it to the Pembina where the Winnipeg Regional playoffs for the Manitoba Winter Games. Those playoffs took place throughout the province and I will have the names of all the winners here at thecurler.com as soon as I can track them down.