With two-time world bronze medal winner Heather Nadohin stepping in for new mother Rachel Homan at skip, the team of (Sudbury native and vice) Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes got an early season bonspiel win under their belts, capturing the Saville Shootout in Alberta this week.
A Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion in both 1998 and 2012, Nedohin substituted for Homan who gave birth to the couple's third child (Briggs) on August 29th.
Not that this disrupted the momentum of the freight train that is Team Homan, sitting as the third ranked team in the world behind only Kerri Einarson of Manitoba and Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland.
The team posted a flawless 8-0 record at the event, including a 5-0 round robin mark with victories over Jessie Hunkin (Alberta - 6-4), Clancy Grandy (B.C. - 7-0), Kerry Galusha (NWT - 5-4), Gracelyn Richards (Alberta - 5-4) and Abby Marks (Alberta - 8-6).
Facing Team Hunkin against in the quarter-finals, Nedohin and company built up a 3-0 lead after three ends and simply traded singles in walking off as 5-2 victors, earning a semi-final berth opposite Kate Cameron of Manitoba.
The teams were tied 3-3 after four ends when Nedohin scored two with last rock, then proceeded to steal another deuce (in 6th) and one in the seventh, eliminating the Winnipeg Granite Curling Club reps 8-3.
Facing stand-in skip Chelsea Carey and the remainder of the Jennifer Jones rink in the final, Team Homan/Nedohin prevailed with a 7-6 extra end win, earning the $6000 grand prize in the process.
The team now returns to Ontario to take part in the PointsBet Canada Invitational from September 26th to October 1st before tackling their first Grand Slam event of the year, October 17th to 22nd in Niagara Falls.