With a red-hot trio showing the way at the 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Moose Jaw, Sask., there is very little margin for error for the likes of Tracy Horgan and the rest of the field.
The Sudbury skip, along with teammates Jennifer Horgan, Jenna Enge and Amanda Gates, posted back-to-back wins on Monday before dropping a 6-4 decision to Heather Strong of Newfoundland on Tuesday afternoon.
During a game in which neither team managed to score more than a single point in any given end, steals in both the first and six ends would make all the difference in the world for Team Strong.
For their part, the Northern Ontario representatives have posted a very respectable record of 3-3, with five round robin games still remaining. But with the impressive troika of Jennifer Jones (Manitoba) and Val Sweeting (Alberta) both at 6-0, and Rachel Homan (Team Canada) at 5-1, Horgan and company are going to need a handful of upsets and some help in order to sneak into the playoffs.
The local ladies are facing a pair of must-win games today, battling British Columbia (1-6) in the morning draw, and facing hometown favourite Stefanie Lawton (Saskatchewan - 4-2) in the evening.
Still up for Northern Ontario are tough matchups with Ontario, Manitoba and Team Canada, with Horgan likely needing to win four of her last five games to even have a chance. 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.
