Shield slides into first place with sweep over Maple

TORONTO — Top of the table to you, Shield Curling Club.

Shield soared into first place in the Rock League standings after sweeping Maple United 3-0 Friday night in a clash of Canadian-based clubs to complete round-robin play.

Captain Brad Jacobs skipped the men’s team to a 9-3 rout, and Kerri Einarson’s women’s squad held on for a 5-4 victory, while Marlee Powers and Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel came out on top 10-6 in mixed doubles.

The result also set up a rematch for Saturday’s seeding round, featuring two games of mixed fours worth one point each. The top four teams advance to Sunday’s playoffs.

“Everyone played great tonight,” Jacobs said. “That was our best team effort, best team game, I think. I looked over at the girls’ sheet. It seemed like they were dominating. Look at the mixed double score. They were dominating. We were taking care of business on our sheet, so it's nice heading into the mixed fours and hopefully playoffs.”

Einarson said it’s crazy how the franchise managed to make it into first place.

“You go from the middle of the pack and then all of a sudden, boom, you're at the top,” she said. “We knew that going in, if we could do a sweep and get 16 points or more, that could put us into first. It feels pretty good. We all played amazing. Our team is really gelling together and it's definitely showing on the ice.”

The members of Shield Curling Club have been bonding off the ice in Toronto, too, from watching the Blue Jays live down at the Rogers Centre to testing their might in axe-throwing at BATL Grounds. 

“I'd never done that before. I think it was the first time for a lot of us. It's a lot more fun than I thought,” Jacobs said. “Getting out and just being amongst one another and having a little bit of fun, I think was important for today. These evening games are tough when you have all day off. You have to do the right things and prepare and make sure you almost re-wake yourself up late in the evening to come out hungry and ready to play. We obviously did that really well, and I'm looking forward to playing at noon tomorrow.”

Jacobs may have also found a new pastime activity.

“It's about technique a little bit and you’ve got to start from the right spot,” he said. “It actually made me want to get some axe-throwing going at my house. I live in the bush in Northern Ontario. We would definitely be able to do that if we wanted.”

Einarson is also enjoying the time spent with her new teammates.

“The things that we're picking to go and do as a team and even just sitting around, chatting about life and just getting to know each other off ice, it's pretty special and we're a good group," she said.

This is the debut season for Rock League, with six franchises featuring five men’s players and five women’s players competing in a variety of curling disciplines. Franchises received one point for winning two of the three games during their round-robin matches, with a bonus half point awarded for sweeping all three.

Since Shield, Alpine Curling Club and Northern United all hold 3-2 records and 3.5 points, total points scored was used as the tiebreaker. That gave Shield (102 points) the No. 1 seed for Saturday’s mixed fours game, with Alpine (94) edging out Northern (93) by a single point for No. 2. Typhoon Curling Club (3-2, 3 points) took the No. 4 slot, with Frontier Curling Club (2-3, 2 points) at No. 5 and Maple (1-4, 1 point) at No. 6.

Friday night's match was just the third sweep of the week. Considering these are the best players in the world competing, Jacobs isn’t surprised to see how close the standings are and how tight the games have been. 

“Everybody knows how to curl, throw the rock well. It's just a matter of making sure that the dynamic on the team is really, really strong,” he said. “The quicker you can read deliveries and read and understand new people, I think the more success you can have.” 

Jacobs took control in the men’s game in the third end, breaking a 2-all tie as he navigated through the narrow point to connect for a score of three points.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist grabbed a commanding 7-2 lead in the fifth end as Maple skip Ross Whyte was light on his last. 

Whyte struggled again in the sixth end as he flubbed a draw for two, with his shooter rolling out the back, to count just a single point. That gave Jacobs the hammer for the final frame, and an open hit put another deuce on the board.

Meanwhile, Einarson flipped the hammer fast by forcing Maple captain Rachel Homan to a single in the first. Einarson, who earned bronze at last month's world championship, then sprinted away by converting for a deuce in the second, stealing one in the third and two in the fourth. Homan looked to ricochet for a double, but missed the second Shield stone as both her shooter and the raised rock rolled out to surrender a pair of points. 

A miss from Einarson in the sixth opened the door for Homan to potentially score three with a takeout, however, her shooter rolled away resulting in just a deuce.

With Maple sitting two in the seventh, but neither covering the pinhole for a possible two-point score, Einarson aimed for the back one to concede a single but win a third consecutive game. 

“I think now we're all getting used to each other and we're bringing that intensity,” Einarson said. “Carole (Howald) is like our little energy out there bouncing around. They're just amazing, they're a great team and I'm having lots of fun.”

The mixed doubles game was close to start as the lead flipped five times through the first five ends. That came to an abrupt halt in the sixth as Maple's Jocelyn Peterman and Tanner Horgan were light on their last, resulting in a steal of three and a 9-5 deficit. After Peterman was forced to draw for one in the seventh, Powers added another point in the eighth.

Right when Shield started firing on all cylinders, the franchise now has split everyone up to form two mixed teams. Jacobs said they've already discussed strategy and which lineups they will deploy for the rematch against Maple. 

“They're going to be hungry to beat us for sure and redeem themselves a little bit and bounce back,” Jacobs said. “Having said that, we're going to have to get a good rest tonight and come out with a lot of good positive energy tomorrow. We've been doing a good job of that, especially the last two, three days, so that's what I expect us to do.” 

Einarson added: “I think it'll be really good. It's definitely going to be a little different. We've got to figure out our communication, but I think we've got a good lineup on both teams and we're really excited for it, so it's going to be fun.”

Saturday’s schedule 

• No. 1 Shield Curling Club vs. No. 6 Maple United, Noon ET 

• No. 2 Alpine Curling Club vs. No. 5 Frontier Curling Club, 3:30 p.m. ET 

• No. 3 Northern United vs. No. 4 Typhoon Curling Club, 7 p.m. ET