Birt remains undefeated

SUMMERSIDE -- Generating offence was not a problem for Kim Dolan and Summerside native Suzanne Birt on Friday afternoon.
Birt prevailed 9-8 in a battle of Charlottetown Curling Club rinks to go 2-0 (won-lost) at the 2009 P.E.I. Scotties Tournament of Hearts provincial women's curling championship. Dolan is 2-1.
"It was a roller-coaster," said Summerside native Stefanie Clark, who is the Birt rink's lead. "Never, at any point in that game, did I feel 100 per cent comfortable.
"We just remained focused because it's not over until that last rock is thrown."
Also Friday afternoon, Robyn MacPhee of Charlottetown scored six points in the fifth end of a 13-6 victory over Karen Currie of the Cornwall Curling Club. In the morning draw, Dolan downed MacPhee 9-3 and Butler trimmed Currie 10-3.

No blanked ends
At the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club, there was not one blanked end in the Birt vs. Dolan match.
"When you have hammer obviously your goal is to get two, but getting one is never a bad thing in our minds," said Clark.
Dolan scored a deuce in the first end and then stole a single point in the second to go up 3-0. Birt rebounded with a four-ender in the third end and then stole back-to-back singles for a 6-3 lead after five ends.
Dolan scored three in the sixth end to tie the score, but Birt came right back with a deuce in the seventh end.
Dolan made an outstanding tap shot against three Birt rocks for a single in the eighth end, and the teams exchanged single points with last-rock advantage in the final two ends.
"She (Dolan) made a really nice tap (in the eighth)," said Clark. "She made that shot absolutely perfect and you have to give her credit.
"If a skip throws a rock that is absolutely perfect, they did what they were supposed to do."
The Birt rink executed some key shots to prevent Dolan from generating a big end in the 10th.
"Leslie (MacDougall, second stone) and Shell (third stone Shelly Bradley) made some really nice come-arounds and got rid of some blue stones," said Clark. "I wish I could actually see Sue's first shot on replay."
Clark explained: "Basically it was a run-back straight from a guard into the top-four (foot) and she nailed hit. She absolutely hit that guard where you had to hit it onto the blue rock in the house and ours remained buried and shot rock."
Dolan, faced with a circus-like shot on her final shot, made an outstanding hit and role for one to fall just short.
Play continues at The Fox throughout the weekend. The winning rink will represent P.E.I. at the national Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Victoria, B.C., from Feb. 21 to March 1.