Scotties Playoffs Are Set

So after many of us media types spent most of Thursday pouring over numerous possible scenarios... there will be no tiebreakers needed at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

The final draw of the round-robin, draw number 17, ended with four teams left standing from the original field of twelve...

Draw Results...

SASK - 11
CAN - 5

MAN - 5
ON - 3

AB - 7
NS - 6

BC - 7
NB - 6

Playoff teams...

1. Manitoba 9-2
2. BC 8-3
3. Quebec 7-4
4. Alberta 7-4

(Quebec gets the #3 seed thanks to their round-robin win over Alberta)

After watching the tournament unfold throughout this week... I am of the opinion that the four teams left truly are the four best teams. And, as cliche as it might sound, I also feel that any of the four teams is fully capable of beating the others.

To the chagrin of many, neither Regina-based rink made it to the playoffs... and funny enough it was a head-to-head duel between the two rinks that sealed this fate. Sask (Englot) defeated Canada (Holland) 11-5 to knock the defending champs out of the tournament.

Soooooo here's the remaining schedule...

Friday, 7:30pm - Manitoba (1) vs. BC (2) with the winner advancing to the Final
Saturday, 11:00am - Quebec (3) vs. Alberta (4) winner advances to the semi-final
Saturday, 4:00pm - Semifinal (loser of 1/2 vs. winner of 3/4)
Sunday, 8:30am - Bronze Medal Game (loser of semifinal vs. loser of 3/4 game)
Sunday, 1:30pm - Gold Medal Game (winner of 1/2 game vs. winner of semifinal)

TOTAL ATTENDANCE for the Scotties now sits at 67,982 (5139 for draw 17). The lack of any tiebreaker games means it is quite unlikely that total attendance will crack the 100,000 mark.

The best news coming out of all of this... I get to have my regularly scheduled nap on Friday... something I have not had the luxury of doing yet this week... woo hoo :)

TG