LIVERPOOL, N.S. — Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher have advanced to the semifinals at the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials after brushing Brittany Tran and Rylan Kleiter aside 8-3 in Friday's Page 3 versus 4 playoff game.
Homan and Bottcher surrendered a single point in the first end, then stormed back in the second by scoring three, then had back-to-back steals of two to grab a 7-1 lead after four ends.
Tran and Kleiter scored one in the fifth, gave up one in the sixth and then shook hands after being held to one in the seventh.
Homan and Bottcher (Beaumont, Alta./Spruce Grove, Alta.) will face Lisa Weagle and John Epping (Ottawa/Toronto) in Saturday's semifinal, after Weagle and Epping lost 8-5 in the Page 1 versus 2 playoff game on Friday.
“I mean, everyone here is phenomenal,” said Homan. “They’ve proven themselves this week, and we have to just focus on our game and make sure we come out strong.”
Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant of Chestermere, Alta., advanced to Saturday's championship final by scoring threes in the fifth and seventh ends. The winners trailed 3-2 heading into the fifth end before taking control of the game.
“I’ve played in a couple of (four-player) Trials finals and I’ve been on both sides of it (a loss in 2017 and a win in 2021) and you know that both teams are going to be giving it their absolute all,” said Peterman. “We’ll be coming out hoping to do the same.
“ … I think having that Olympic experience, it makes you want it a little bit more. … We’ve had that experience under our belts, and I think it takes a little bit of the pressure off us maybe going into (Saturday's final), but we still want it. We still want it bad.””
The trials winner can represent Canada in the 2026 Olympic Games if the duo also finishes high enough at the 2025 world championship to qualify their country for Italy.
The Olympic field will include the top eight ranked countries in the world, or the top seven plus host Italy if the Italians aren't in the top eight. Canada currently ranks fifth.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2025.
The Canadian Press
