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Skip Rachel Homan yells directions to teammates after delivering a rock during Game 1 of the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials final against Team Black in Halifax on Friday.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
Team Rachel Homan is one win away from a berth to the 2026 Winter Olympics, after beating Team Christina Black 5-4 on Friday in the tense opener of their best-of-three final at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.
Black and her underdog hometown rink will need a win Saturday to keep their storybook run going in Halifax, buoyed by heavy support from the local crowd.
The winner will represent Canada at the Milano Cortina Olympics in February.
Ottawa’s Team Homan – which includes Emma Miskew, Tracy Fleury and Sarah Wilkes – was fresh off a rest day Thursday since they earned a bye to the final by being the best team in the round robin.
Meanwhile Team Black – with Jill Brothers, Karlee Everist, Marlee Powers and Jennifer Baxter – spent Thursday pulling off a big semi-final upset of Team Kerri Einarson. That also gave Black the advantage of getting familiar with the conditions on the specific ice sheet being used in the playoffs at Scotiabank Centre. Frost would once again come into play.
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Skip Christina Black, centre, watches her shot during the game on Friday.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
Homan scored a single in the second and then stole the third and fourth ends to go up 3-0.
Black had taken a big swing in Friday’s fourth end against Homan but missed a runback for two. Then in a weird fifth end, throwing against three, Black threw a clutch draw to score a single in the seventh and stay in the game.
Fans roared for the Nova Scotians. There were handmade signs that scrawled with Black Friday and Black Magic. Locals have been cheering them wherever they go in Halifax, from the nearby mall to restaurants.
Black scored another one in the eight to pull within one before Homan responded to some pressure in the ninth and managed to score one more. Things got dramatic in the 10th end. Black had a big opportunity to score three for the win, but her shot was a little too soft.
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“Definitely challenging. Ice kept changing and tough to keep up with. But I thought we stayed tough together. I thought we made a ton of shots and we were as precise as we could be,” said Homan. “I thought we had an okay game and need to be a little bit sharper. And hopefully a few things change tomorrow.”
It’s the first time a Nova Scotia team has made the final at the Canadian Olympic trials.
Homan placed third at her first Olympic trials in 2013, then won the berth in 2017 to the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, where her team finished sixth. In 2021, her team floundered at the trials and finished ninth. Homan also went to the Olympics for mixed doubles in 2022, where she finished fifth alongside John Morris.
Brad Jacobs and Matt Dunstone are competing in the men’s best-of-three final in Halifax.
The finals will continue Saturday, and if also on Sunday if a third meeting is needed.
