HALIFAX — Christina Black's team started the Canadian curling competition in Montana with a whimper.
The rink has a chance to end the playdowns as it represents Canada at the Cortina Olympics in Milan.
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Black's Halifax Local Curling Club team stunned Kerri Einarson 6-3 in the women's semi-final on Thursday afternoon to advance to the women's final against Rachel Homan.
“I really don’t have words,” Black said. “It was amazing.”
Later in the day, Matt Dunston's Winnipeg team won 9-5 over Mike McEwen's Saskatoon team in the men's semifinals. In the men's final, Dunston will play at the Calgary rink, which Brad Jacobs missed.
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Black broke a 3-3 tie with three points in the ninth end and then bowled Einarson out in the 10th.
Einarson, a four-time national champion from Gimli, Manufacturer, was under pressure from the start of the game and found it difficult to organize an attack.
“It just wasn’t meant to happen and unfortunately we got outplayed,” Einarson said. “We just missed a few shots here and there and didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we were given.”
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Nova Scotia's only team in the eight-team field, Black dropped a 12-5 decision to Einarson in the first round-robin. Things looked even bleaker after a subsequent 8-2 loss to Homan.
But Skip, 38, bounced back, leading her five-player team to four wins in their next five games and making it into the playoffs when Kaitlyn Laws made her last chance to beat Kayla Skrlic.
Once there, Black and his teammates Jill Brothers, Carly Everist and Marley Powers were in place.
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They took an early steal and forced Einarson to hit a single in the second. Black led all players, throwing 90 percent overall, with blanks and singles setting up the decisive ninth end.
Einarson VP Val Sweeting flashed her first and missed the running back on the second. When Einarson's attempted triple clearance removed only one stone, Black followed with a draw at three.
“Oh my God, this is incredible,” Black said. “We are so happy. We just wanted to come out and play a great game, keep it on the edge, get the crowd involved and just do our thing.”
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It's all good now for the 21st-ranked Black, whose team also has Jennifer Baxter at the forefront. The host court will be like a skating rink for Homan, a two-time Olympian who earned a spot in the finals with a 6-1 record in the round-robin.
The best-of-three match begins Friday at Scotiabank Centre.
“We’re just grinders, and we don’t have to be the top-ranked team to believe we can do it,” Brothers said.
Black felt the love from fans throughout an emotional week in Nova Scotia following the death of curling legend Colleen Jones on Tuesday.
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After her latest round-robin win, Black and her teammates were greeted with cheers as they walked through the food court outside their hotel.
“Sometimes when I work, I have to come to the office (nearby) and go there for coffee in the morning,” Black said. “Then no one applauds me.
“So I thought, 'This is wild,'” she added with a laugh.
The fanatical crowd of 6,856 roared every time Black's team struck on Thursday. The players were fueled by positive energy and most often left Einarson's four of Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Carly Burgess playing in defence.
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Einarson opened the competition with six straight wins and then exited the tournament after consecutive losses.
“Shannon, Val and Kerry have been playing together for so long and it was on their bucket list as well as mine and I thought we were very close this week,” said Burgess, who joined the team almost a year ago.
“I thought we did it. So, it's a difficult question.”
In the evening's game, McEwen made a tap for two in the third end, but Dunston answered in the fourth with a tap for a pair.
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Dunston hit a double takeout for three points in the sixth end and hit a deuce in the ninth for an 8-5 lead. McEwen, who lost to Kevin Coe in the 2017 Trial final, gave up a steal in the 10th to end it.
The Winter Games begin on February 4.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
