Team Canada came away with two surprising losses on Monday at the 2019 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Sydney, Nova Scotia. In their first game, Canada lost 8-6 to Prince Edward Island and then in their second game, Canada lost 9-6 to New Brunswick. It was a monumental victory for New Brunswick’s Andrea Crawford, as it was the first time in six games at the Canadian women’s curling championship that she beat the 2014 Olympic Winter Games gold medalists.
In Canada’s loss to Prince Edward Island, Jones only curled 58%, while Prince Edward Island skip Suzanne Birt of Summerside, skipped 76%. In fact, the entire Prince Edward Island team outskipped Canada at every position, with P.E.I. second Meaghan Hughes curling a game-high 91%. The turning point in the match came in the third and fourth ends. After the second end, the game was deadlocked at two points each. Then Birt was able to steal two points each in the third and fourth ends to take a commanding 6-2 lead.
Jones continued to struggle against New Brunswick as she only curled 63%. New Brunswick took control of this match in the sixth end when they took a commanding 6-2 lead. This is Crawford’s first appearance at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts since 2014. She has spent the last few years working for the Canadian military in Germany.
Even though Jones struggled on Monday, she is still in good position to qualify for the medal round in Pool B. Her current record is four wins and two losses after a 9-7 win over Yukon on Tuesday and an 8-4 win over Newfoundland on Wednesday.
