The bitter taste of defeat is one that will last for a while for Robyn Silvernagle and her rink from the Twin Rivers Curling Club.
However, even though she came up a win short of winning the Viterra Scotties Tournament of Hearts title for the second straight year, the way that the entire team played over the course of last week in Melfort has Silvernagle excited for the future.
“I really felt like we came together as a team and we had a great week overall,” Silvernagle said. “We got into a groove early and we kept that up all the way through the week.
“It’s always a learning experience and I know for myself being in the final this year it was a lot different from last year as I was a lot more calm and patient out there. We know what it takes to play in those big games now. The only thing we have left to do is figure how to win them, but that comes with experience and we’ll gain that grit and fight that you need to preserve in those tough situations.”
After losing in last year’s title game to Moose Jaw’s Penny Barker in Melville, Silvernagle returned to the championship contest Sunday, where she dropped a 7-6 extra-end thriller to Saskatoon’s Sherry Anderson.
“We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities and Sherry’s rink was able to capitalize on her chances, which was the biggest difference in the final,” Silvernagle said. “We struggled a little bit on our draw weight during the whole game as well, as we were a little bit heavy on those shots and not quite as precise as we had been.
“We’re still trying to figure out why that game didn’t go the way that we wanted it to. I’m sure we’ll go through and watch it again eventually, but that will be after the sting wears off a bit.”
Anderson, who is joined on her rink by third Kourtney Fesser, second Krista Fesser and lead Karlee Kochinski, will be making her ninth trip to the Scotties later this month in Penticton, B.C. and her first as a skip since 2004.
Silvernagle, who played alongside third Jolene Campbell, second Dayna Demers and lead Kara Thevenot, led the round-robin for the second straight year at the provincials as she rattled off seven straight wins after dropping her opening game to Regina’s Chantelle Eberle.
“We got an extra-end win over Penny [Barker] in our next game after the lost to Chantelle, and that was important for us to get that first win out of the way and come out of the first day with a split,” Silvernagle said.
“All of the games during the round-robin were close, which is what we expected with how talented the field was in Melfort. There were so many strong teams there that we didn’t think we’d be in any games that were runaways on the scoreboard.”
In the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game Friday, the North Battleford based team turned in an impressive performance as they cruised to an 8-2 win over Eberle.
“That was probably our best game of the week,” Silvernagle said. “We felt totally in control for most of that game.
“We had awesome rock placement and really good draw weight, which allowed us to put some pressure on them. When we got a steal of three in the ninth end, we made a lot of great shots and left Chantelle with nothing on her last stone.”
There is a chance that the Silvernagle rink might compete in another bonspiel before the end of the season, but that is still be to determined.
“We’re all eager to get back on the ice again, but it’s hard to find an event at the end of the year as there isn’t a lot after the Scotties are done, especially this year as everything is happening earlier due to the Winter Olympics,” Silvernagle said.
“All of us are going to take a few trips and relax a little bit over the next few weeks, and I think Kara and Dayna might be playing in the mixed provincials later on this winter, but they weren’t sure as of yet.”
