Victory was sweet for the Englot rink in their final match against the Lawton rink, January 29 at the SaskPower Scotties Provincial Tournament of Hearts women's provincial curling championships in Humboldt.
It was a match that played out shot by shot - every end counted. The real turning point for the Englot rink came in the fifth end when they racked up three points, giving them the lead over the Lawton rink with a score of 6-3.
"It was really touchy ice and sensitive," skip Michelle Englot told the press after the game. "We were fortunate that we got the score on that end and then we took full advantage in the fifth end, so that was nice as well."
It was an intense game where both rinks tried different strategies for each end in their efforts to maintain or capture the lead. With the score at 8-6 going into the 10th end, the Lawton rink was close to being able to tie the game. It was Englot who threw the rock that definitively brought the game to an end when she knocked Lawton's two rocks out of the house, making it impossible for that rink to get the two points they needed to tie the game
For the Lawton rink, it meant the end of their journey to this year's national competition, and the disappointment was obvious for the four ladies who had struggled already against the Englot rink in the page playoffs on Saturday evening, losing by one point.
For the Englot rink, winners in every game they played during the tournament, it was an exhilarating moment when they realized the trophy was theirs. The last time Michelle Englot played in the National Scotties Tournament of Hearts was in 2008.
"Well, 2008 was a bit of a writeoff and it was a really tough event for me," Englot said. "It's probably taken me this long to get my fire back up for that. I did want to go back one more time and I'm really looking forward to it, especially with this team. We've got an incredible group of girls."
The skip has a new team since then, and she said that because they are all at different stages in their lives between work and families, they couldn't make the commitment to go on World Curling Tour events in order to prepare for this tournament.
"We didn't have the luxury of going to the World Tour events just because of all the games we'd have to play," explained Englot. "We did decide to go the SaskCurling Tour route, and practise, and that has worked well for us."
As the champions of the Scotties Provincial Tournament of Hearts, the Englot rink will go on to represent Saskatchewan, along with defending champions - the Amber Holland rink, also from Saskatchewan - at the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Red Deer, Alberta, February 18-26.
For photos from SaskPower Scotties Provincial Tournament of Hearts, see photo galleries.
