Horgan keeps playoff drive alive at Scotties

Sudbury's Tracy Horgan rink won their first match of the day Wednesday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, improving their record to 4-3, along with their chances at a playoff birth.

The Sudbury skip, along with teammates Jennifer Horgan, Jenna Enge and Amanda Gates, beat Patti Knezevic's British Columbia rink 7-5 in the morning draw, at the Scotties, being held this year in Moose Jaw, Sask.

It was a struggle at times for Northern Ontario, with the lead changing hands a few times, with the score tied at five after the seventh end. Horgan pulled off singles in the eighth and ninth ends for the victory.

“We came out a little flat, but found our groove by the second end and stepped things up a bit,” Horgan told reporters. “We made some key freezes that kept a lot of pressure on them.”

The victory created something of a logjam, with four teams – Horgan, Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton, Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Birt (Charlottetown) and Ontario’s Julie Hastings (Thornhill) – each with four wins. Lawton's hometown rink has the edge of the other three, however, since they have just two losses.

Horgan will look to keep the rink's playoffs hopes alive tonight at 8 p.m. in a key matchup against Lawton. They follow that with two more games Thurday – 10 a.m. against Ontario, and 3 p.m. against Manitoba. The Sudbury curlers will finish their tournament Friday against Team Canada at 10 a.m. The playoffs begin Friday at 3 p.m.

This is the second trip to the Scotties for the Idylwylde Golf & Country Club quartet, having posted a record of 4-7 back in 2012.