Team Saskatchewan third Stefanie Lawton during the team's practice on Feb. 14, 2020. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

By Britton Gray

Lawton’s experience, calming influence seen in Saskatchewan’s 6-4 win at Scotties

Feb 15, 2020 | 7:13 PM

Robyn Silvernagle and her Saskatchewan rink have more than just last year’s Scotties experience to draw on throughout the 2020 tournament.

Third Stefanie Lawton was the skip for Saskatchewan when the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship was staged in Moose Jaw in 2015.

“We’ve had a lot of chats just about what it was like (in 2015) and being in Sydney (Nova Scotia) versus what it might be like here,” Lawton said following Silvernagle’s 6-4 opening-game win Saturday at Mosaic Place.

“It is a completely different atmosphere with so much family and friends and everyone around and the crowd going wild.”

While Silvernagle, lead Kara Thevenot and second Jessie Hunkin are in just their second Scotties tournament, Lawton is making her sixth appearance.

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Saskatchewan was able to give the home crowd something to cheer about in the tournament’s first draw, defeating Andrea Crawford’s New Brunswick rink Saturday afternoon.

The game started with Crawford trying to blank the first end but she stuck with her last rock for an early point. After two blank ends, Silvernagle was forced to draw for one in the fourth.

Saskatchewan began to take over in the fifth end, when it stole two points. Crawford missed a takeout on one of Silvernagle’s rocks in the sixth, giving Saskatchewan a steal of one and a 4-1 lead.

Crawford scored one in the seventh end. In the eighth, Crawford put the pressure on Saskatchewan, with her last shot drawing in tight to the button. Silvernagle was unable to draw closer, giving New Brunswick a steal of two to tie it up at 4.

That’s when Lawton’s influence could be seen, with her team focusing on taking a deep breath and not overreacting.

“We’re still in the game, we’re still in control and let’s just keep going,” Lawton said of her message to her teammates.

In the ninth, Silvernagle made no mistake with her final rock and tapped a New Brunswick stone back just enough to count two — and what would be the game’s deciding points.

“It’s huge, just getting your feet under you and getting the nerves out,” Silvernagle said of winning her opener.

Lawton said the foursome didn’t focus too much on the crowd noise during the game, but when Silvernagle hit the shot in the ninth end, it set in that Saskatchewan was the host team and had the crowd support.

“The crowd goes wild and I’m like,’Whoa, this is pretty awesome being here,’ ” said Lawton, who curled a team-high 84 per cent in the contest.

In 2019 and in its first Scotties match, Silvernagle’s rink faced Team Canada with Jennifer Jones as the skip on national television. Saskatchewan lost that opener 6-5.

“I know even this game I felt a lot more calm compared to last year in Sydney, (when) I was nervous” Silvernagle said.

Silvernagle said her team leans on Lawton’s experience during games.

“I know for myself she’ll say, ‘Just breathe, it’s OK, it’s just curling,’ so her experience has come in very handy for us,” Silvernagle said.

And Lawton is embracing the role of being the calming influence on the team.

“I love it,” Lawton said. “It’s a totally different position for me from skipping where it’s high pressure all the time. For me, I feel a lot less pressure and I just go out there and make my shots but then I can be a support person as well.”

The game against New Brunswick was the only contest of the day for Saskatchewan. Its next action is Sunday, when Silvernagle’s team is to face Team Canada skipped by Chelsea Carey at 1:30 p.m., and Lori Eddy’s Nunavut squad at 6:30.

Northern Ontario earns win over Canada

Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville defeated Carey’s Canada rink 8-3 in nine ends in the first draw. It was a rematch of the 2016 Scotties final, which Carey won.

In other games in Draw 1, Corryn Brown’s B.C. team won 7-5 over Prince Edward Island’s Suzanne Birt, and Nova Scotia’s Mary-Anne Arsenault downed Jo-Anne Rizzo’s Northwest Territories team 8-6.

The evening draw will see Jones’ wild-card team facing Ontario’s Rachel Homan, Erica Curtis’ Newfoundland/Labrador rink meeting Hailey Birnie’s Yukon team, Quebec’s Noémie Verreault battling Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson, and Laura Walker and Team Alberta facing Eddy’s Nunavut foursome.