Rachel Homan shoots perfect game in Scotties final to pick up second consecutive title
Homan's Canada rink went undefeated for the second year in a row.
Rachel Homan’s Team Canada repeated as Scotties Tournament Of Hearts champions on Sunday night, beating Kerri Einarson’s Manitoba team 6-1 in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Team Canada reached the final after a perfect 8-0 record in Pool A of the round robin, followed by a 10-5 win over Christina Black’s Nova Scotia rink in the Page 1/2 Qualifier on Friday and an 8-4 win over Kerri Einarson’s Manitoba team in the 1v2 semifinal on Saturday.
Einarson and Black met in the other semifinal earlier on Sunday for the chance to meet Homan in the final, with Einarson’s team coming away with a narrow 9-8 victory to get back to the championship game — a third Scotties final meeting between these two, with the Manitoba skip winning the past two in 2020 and 2021.
Fast forward to Sunday night, and the first leg between the two sides was blanked as Homan looked to retain the hammer. After picking up a single in the second end, the third didn’t quite go to plan for Team Canada at first, but their skip bailed them out.
A couple of misses from Tracy Fleury saw Manitoba sitting three rocks before Homan came to the rescue. She cleared away two rocks on her first throw before doing it again with a clinical second throw after Einarson placed another shot within the rings. Manitoba opted to blank the end to keep control of the hammer, down one point after three ends.
Canada forced Manitoba to go for one point in the fourth end, with Homan hitting another double takeout before using her final throw to be in position to score three. Einarson hit the rock closest to the button to take shot rock, and a single.
After both sides crowded the rings at the start of the fifth end, Manitoba second Karlee Burgess broke up the pack with a hard shot, forcing both teams to readjust their strategies. Like the previous end, it seemed like the team who had the hammer was lining up a big score, only for the other to get out of the jam.
It concluded with Homan hitting a rock on the edge of the button for a score of one, taking a 2-1 lead into the break after five ends. Einarson opted to blank the sixth end after Homan was able to put a halt to another multi-point score attempt.
The Canada skip piled even more pressure on Manitoba with a perfect hit and roll to set up the steal of one point in the seventh end, giving her side a 3-1 advantage. Canada stole two more in the eighth when Einarson’s final rock, a draw for one point, was light.
With their backs against the wall, Manitoba faltered again in the ninth end with a missed double, and Canada made them pay with a steal of one to make it 6-1. Einarson’s team accepted defeat and offered the handshakes before the tenth end to bring the game to a close.
The game was the lowest scoring final in tournament history, with the seven combined points one lower than than the eight in the 1994 final. Homan is the first skip in Scotties history to throw a perfect game in the final, and the team is the first to win back-to-back titles by going undefeated.
For Homan and her second Emma Miskew it was a fifth Scotties crown, and a second title for lead Sarah Wilkes and third Tracy Fleury. It’s a third title for alternate Rachelle Brown as well. As winners of the Scotties, the team moves on to represent Canada at the upcoming world championships in South Korea, where they are also the reigning champions.
They will also be the favourites at the Canadian Olympic trials later this year.
Homan’s fifth title puts her one back of Colleen Jones and Jennifer Jones for the all-time record among skips. Jennifer Jones was Canada’s coach in this tournament after retiring last year following a losing effort in the 2024 final to Team Homan. Team Homan is looking to become the latest dynasty in the sport, after ending Team Einarson’s four-year streak of winning this tournament last year and now winning two of their own.
Up next in Canadian curling is the Brier, which will see the top men’s teams in the country battle it out in Kelowna, British Columbia from February 28 to March 9. Brad Gushue’s Team Canada rink is looking for a fourth-consecutive title.
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