In the end Team Silvernagle came up a little short at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The Silvernagle team lost 9-7 on Sunday to Ontario’s Rachel Homan in the semifinal game. Homan then fell in the late contest to Chelsea Carey and Alberta for the Scotties title.
In the semifinal game, Ontario had built a 6-2 lead but the Saskatchewan team never quit, scoring three in the seventh end to get back to within one. After Homan scored two in the eighth, Silvernagle responded with two in the ninth to keep it close, but a draw for one point by Homan in the 10th clinched it.
The Silvernagle team ended up in the semifinal after a strong week of play in Sydney, N.S. They finished pool B play with a record of 5-2, good enough to clinch a spot in the championship pool.
In that championship pool, Silvernagle got two wins, over Northern Ontario 11-5 and British Columbia 8-6, before Alberta walloped the team 10-3 on Friday.
Needing a win over Homan’s Ontario team on Friday night, Saskatchewan pulled out a 6-3 win to clinch the second seed and set up a rematch with Carey in the one-two page playoff.
But a loss in that game by an 11-7 score sent the Silvernagle team into the semifinals and a rematch with Homan. Unfortunately, the task of having to beat the strong Homan team twice in one week proved too much.
Overall for the week, Team Silvernagle finished with a record of eight wins and five losses. They can take solace in one more fact: their team fared better in Sydney than the rink of TSN’s “greatest skip in history” Jennifer Jones, who failed to even make the playoffs.
After the semifinals ended, a number of North Battleford residents took to social media to pay tribute to the Silvernagle team, based at Twin Rivers Curling Club, for their performance.
“Great performance at #STOH2019 for @TeamSilvernagle,” stated Mayor Ryan Bater on Twitter. “Thank you for such an awesome week.”
“So incredibly proud of you ladies this week” read the tweet from Melissa Silvernagle. “Your grit, determination, positivity and amazing skill set is no longer a secret from our country. You shone so bright this week! Be proud of your amazing accomplishment of earning a bronze. You WILL be back!”
