CHARLOTTETOWN

Rachel Homan’s first Sunday night at her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts went something like this:

Played one of the best teams in the country, Alberta’s Shannon Kleibrink.

Dominated them for 10 ends for a 10-7 win.

Did a few interviews, then went back onto the ice at about 10:45 p.m. for a few practice rocks.

Then, finally, walked to the dressing room, her arm around the shoulders of lead Lisa Weagle, content in the knowledge her first weekend at the Canadian women’s curling championship simply couldn’t have gone any better.

Homan’s Ottawa team — third Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and Weagle — carries a 3-0 record and a tie for first place with Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland into play today at the Charlottetown Civic Centre, and the 2010 Canadian junior champion and world junior silver medallist, is embracing the situation.

“Oh, my God, that was a fun game,” marvelled Homan, 21. “It was nerve-racking, but I think everyone (watching) must have loved the game, because it was a battle.

“My heartrate’s still up there, I’m not going to lie about that. But you can’t let it affect your game.”

She didn’t. Even when Alberta fought back to tie it with two in the ninth end, Homan, a 7-1 winner over Newfoundland’s Stacie Devereaux earlier Sunday, calmly threw a double-takeout to score three for the win in a game her team thoroughly deserved to win, despite burning two rocks.

“It’s really fun to be in this kind of atmosphere,” said Miskew, whose team takes on P.E.I.’s Suzanne Birt this morning and B.C.’s Kelly Scott tonight. “We went through it in juniors, and it’s just not the same. Everyone in the crowd is so animated, and it’s so much fun to have cheers on every shot.

“But it’s a long week. There’s no looking back and no looking too far forward. We just have to take every game as it comes and hope for the best. There’s going to be ups and downs. We just have to keep toughing it out.”

The Alberta champs (third Amy Nixon, second Bronwen Webster, lead Chelsey Bell), meanwhile, dropped to 2-1 after stealing a 7-6 win over B.C. earlier Sunday.

“We were talking about it after (the loss to Ontario); if that’s as bad as it gets and we’re still tied up coming home, we still have a chance, right?” said Kleibrink with a smile.

“We’re not feeling too badly about it, except that we just need to figure out the ice a little better (today).

“Draw weight is tough, and when you’re trying to come back, they’re banging when we’re trying to get one in there, and it’s a bit of a guess.”

Alberta takes on Saskatchewan this morning and Newfoundland tonight.

“B.C., Ontario, that’s a really tough day,” sighed Bell. “We were close in both of them, but we would have liked this (Ontario game) to go a different way. We’re not going to go undefeated. I don’t think anyone will. Saskatchewan better watch out.”

Holland hasn’t seemed worried about much this weekend. Her Saskatchewan champs from Kronau hammered three-time defending champ Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg 9-3 in the morning draw, then completed a perfect opening weekend with a 10-6 win over P.E.I.

And while she didn’t expect a game like that out of Jones on Sunday, the 36-year-old skip isn’t necessarily surprised she’s in the penthouse suite in the standings after the opening weekend. Asked after the Team Canada game if she’s motivated by wanting to be talked about in the same terms as skips like Jones and Olympians Kleibrink and Cheryl Bernard, Holland had a blunt, to-the-point answer.

“I probably consider myself among the best in the country,” said Holland, who’s making her second straight appearance at the Scotties after going 6-5 last year in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., in her playing debut (her previous biggest wins were at the Canadian junior championship along with the Grand Slam Players’ Championship.)

“I’ve been playing this game for too long, I’ve been skipping for a lot of years, and I’ve played all of these teams and had success against these teams — just maybe not in this venue. But I consider myself among the elite already.”

Team Canada’s part of a pack at 2-1 that includes Alberta and B.C.

“It wasn’t our game,” said a completely unrattled Jones. “But that’s going to happen. I think it’s happened to us every year we’re at this event. So that’s OK.

“A loss never phases us, ever. It helps out — it gives you a kick in the butt. It gets you to focus again. And you’re not going to go through undefeated. ”

acameron@calgaryherald.com

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