Group Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes seeking to construct on final 12 months’s playoff look on the Scotties.
THUNDER BAY — The 2025 Scotties Match of Hearts is slated for Feb. 14-23 on the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay, Ont. Eighteen ladies’s groups will compete within the nationwide curling championship.
Meet the groups:
Pre-Qualifier 2 – Group Manitoba – Lawes
Group Kaitlyn Lawes took an alternate path to the 2025 Scotties Match of Hearts, named as one among three Pre-Qualifying groups after competing as Manitoba champion in 2024.
Lawes gave beginning to her second daughter, Ella, in November, lacking a portion of the present season. She started the 2024-25 marketing campaign taking part in in three occasions earlier than stepping away in her thirty seventh week of being pregnant.
Group spare Becca Hebert (a former Canadian Junior ladies’s champion with then skip Jocelyn Peterman) stuffed in at lead with Selena Njegovan transferring from her traditional vice-skip place to skip. Peterman, at second, and Kristin Gordon, at lead, spherical out the group. Hebert stays the group’s alternate.
Having pre-qualified, like Kerri Einarson, makes it simpler, mentioned Lawes, who’s a Scotties Match of Hearts and World champion – with Jennifer Jones – and a two-time Olympic gold medallist.
“In the past you would have thought that getting a chance to play in provincials would be a huge advantage in that, if you win, you have that huge momentum going in. But when you look at the (Scotties) playoffs the last few years and who’s been in the finals, the team’s that have had that bye have been in those spots,” mentioned Lawes.
It’s been an up-and-down marketing campaign for Group Lawes, increase a 24-23 file, however the group has reached 4 semi-finals within the 2024-25 marketing campaign, together with its first three occasions and 4 of the primary 5.
The group brings loads of expertise within the kind of what’s going to be 11 Scotties appearances for Lawes, together with a title in 2015 with Jones at skip; two silvers; and three bronze medals on the nationwide championship.
Lawes additionally has two Olympic gold medals to her identify, one with Group Jones in 2014 and the opposite in blended doubles with John Morris in 2018. Lawes additionally has a gold medal from the 2018 World Championship as she returned from the Olympics to rejoin Jones. Lawes can be a silver and bronze medallist from the World Juniors in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
Njegovan will compete in her tenth Scotties, though in 2023 she was on the bench on parental depart. Her greatest finishes nationally had been silver medals at each the 2018 Scotties with skip Kerri Einarson and the 2021 Canadian Curling Trials with skip Tracy Fleury.
Gordon was a teammate of Njegovan’s on each these runner-up groups and this will likely be her ninth journey to the Scotties, the place she additionally gained silver as an alternate with Jennifer Jones in 2013.
This will likely be Scotties No. 9 for Peterman, having gained the occasion taking part in out of Alberta in 2016 with Chelsea Carey and she or he has two bronze medals from nationals in 2017 (once more with Carey, solely as Group Canada) and 2019 (with Jones and Lawes as Group Wild Card). In 2017 Peterman was additionally a runner-up with Group Carey on the Canadian Curling Trials.
Peterman is a two-time Canadian blended doubles champion (2016 and 2019) along with her husband Brett Gallant, profitable silver at Worlds in 2019. She additionally captured gold with Gallant on the latest Canadian Combined Doubles Trials occasion. Peterman additionally claimed gold on the 2021 Canadian Curling Trials with Jones and Lawes, advancing to the 2022 Winter Olympics, the place they didn’t qualify for medals.
The group is coached by Connor Njegovan.
Group Northwest Territories
After a gap scare on the Territorial playdown, Group Kerry Galusha roared again with vengeance because the veteran skip earned her outstanding 18th official look (and twenty second total) on the Scotties Match of Hearts.
With a revamped group consisting of third Megan Koehler, daughter Sydney Galusha at vice-skip/second, Shona Barbour at lead and alternate Ella Skauge, Group Galusha bounced again from a gap 11-6 loss to a younger Group Betti Delorey.
Galusha, now 47, bounced again with definitive 11-6, 11-4 and 12-0 wins to earn the 2025 Territorial title.
The Northwest Territories skip will now be simply three appearances behind all-time Scotties chief Colleen Jones’s impeccable 21 journeys to nationals. Galusha’s try at maintaining with the Jones ladies continues to be on an upward trajectory as she now sits tied for second in all-time Scotties’ appearances with Jennifer Jones.
Galusha, who additionally competed in two pre-qualifying rounds on the Scotties (which don’t formally depend), disbanded her 2024 group of last-rock thrower Jo-Ann Rizzo, third Margot Flemming and second Sarah Koltun. Galusha known as the video games and threw lead rocks.
Barbour was the alternate on that group, her fourth time as a spare on the Scotties. Barbour started taking part in with Galusha again in junior play and can seem in her ninth official Scotties.
Kohler has competed in 5 Scotties and was an alternate in two others, whereas Sydney Galusha and Ella Skauge journey to their first nationwide ladies’s championship after each competing within the New Holland Canadian Junior Championship in 2024. Sydney is simply 15 and Ella is 16 and each can even be competing within the 2025 New Holland U20 championship in March.
Group Ontario
Steals of two within the third finish and singles within the sixth and ninth led Group Danielle Inglis to a second-straight Ontario ladies’s crown because the Ottawa-based rink defeated Group Chelsea Brandwood 8-4 to advance to the Scotties Match of Hearts.
“We did it!!” tweeted Group Inglis. “After an exciting week of curling, we are thrilled to have defended our title and have the opportunity to return to the Scotties as Team Ontario.”
Inglis’s Ottawa Hunt and Golf Membership rink stays the identical as 2024, with teammates Kira Brunton at vice-skip, second Calissa Daly and lead Cassandra de Groot.
At provincials, Group Inglis rebounded from its solely loss, dropping a 7-6 choice to Hollie Duncan in Sport 1 of the 12-team qualifying match earlier than rattling off six-straight wins.
This will likely be Inglis’s fourth look on the Scotties along with her first two as alternates for Group Hollie Duncan in 2018 and Group Rachel Homan in 2021, the latter incomes a silver medal. Final 12 months the group completed 3-5 in Pool B play on the Scotties in Calgary.
As a junior, Inglis defeated Homan in 2008 to win the Ontario title. Inglis was additionally the vice-skip on Mike Anderson’s 2018 World Combined Curling Championship group that earned gold.
Brunton was the alternate for Krysta Burns’ Northern Ontario group on the 2021 Scotties and Homan’s 2023 Scotties group. She additionally claimed a gold medal as vice-skip for Megan Smith on the 2015 Canada Winter Video games; topped the sphere as skip on the 2017 Canadian U-18 Curling Championship; and gained the 2019 U SPORTS crown representing Laurentian College.
Daly competed within the 2019 New Holland Canadian U-21 Championships for Ontario and gained gold with Northern Ontario’s Jacob Horgan within the blended doubles portion of the competitors and represented Queen’s College in curling.
De Groot has teamed up with Inglis for the final 11 seasons and so they did compete on the 2021 Canadian Pre-Trials and de Groot was a runner-up on the 2018 Ontario Scotties.
Kimberly Tuck is the alternate, attending her third Scotties and Steve Acorn is the group coach.
Group Newfoundland and Labrador
Brooke Godsland bounced again from a disappointing 13-5 loss to Stacie Curtis one 12 months in the past to earn her first journey to the Scotties Match of Hearts in 2025.
Godsland, with Erin Porter at vice-skip, Sarah McNeil Lamswood at second and lead Camille Burt, pounced on Group Carrie Vautour early for a 7-2 lead after 5 ends earlier than ending off their St. John’s opponent 10-4 in eight ends to say the provincial crown.
Godsland posted on her Fb account. “I am beyond excited to represent NL at the 2025 Scotties in Thunder Bay! I couldn’t have asked for a better group of ladies to be going with.”
Whereas Godsland heads to her first Scotties, together with fellow Scotties rookie McNeil Lamswood, Porter has loads of expertise on the Scotties as this will likely be her sixth look. The final one got here in 2020 whereas taking part in for Erica Curtis. Her different journeys had been as vice-skip for Stacie Curtis in 2016-18 and as third for Stacie Devereaux in 2013.
This will likely be Burt’s third-straight journey to the nationwide championship, having beforehand performed lead for Stacie Curtis, together with final season earlier than transferring over to Group Godsland.
Godsland is a two-time provincial junior champion from 2016 and 2017. Burt additionally claimed two provincial junior championships in 2018 and 2019 as lead for Mackenzie Glynn.
The group is coached by Cory Schuh and Kate Paterson is the alternate.
Group Alberta – Skrlik
Group Kayla Skrlik will make its second journey to the large Scotties Match of Hearts present after claiming an actual knock-em-down, drag-em-out affair over Nicky Kaufman within the Alberta provincial championship.
Kaufman recorded a deuce within the seventh finish and stole one within the eighth earlier than Skrlik blanked the ninth and delivered a takeout for the profitable level for a 6-5 win within the tenth finish. In her first provincial last, in 2023 Skrlik out-lasted Group Casey Scheidegger 9-8 in an exhilarating championship sport through which she made an extremely powerful skinny double, simply skirting her personal guard, after which caught round for 2 within the tense tenth finish.
“I’ve curled the last three provincial finals, it’s always come down to the last shot. It’s something that I enjoy doing. I’ve done it for a long time now. To win it on a made shot is great,” Skrlik instructed media after the 2025 win.
Skrlik with third Margot Flemming, her sister Ashton Skrlik at second, lead Geri-Lynn Ramsay (who holds the broom for the skip’s rocks) and alternate Crystal Rumberg are based mostly out of the Garrison Curling Membership in Calgary.
Skrlik, with Brittany Tran at vice-skip, completed 4-4 on the 2023 Scotties in Kamloops, B.C. It is going to be the second journey to nationals for the Skrlik sisters whereas Ramsay makes her third look.
Flemming, who joined the group this season after Kerry Galusha’s Northwest Territories group disbanded, will make her fifth journey to the Scotties.
This will likely be Rumberg’s fourth look on the Scotties and Group Skrlik is coached by Shannon Kleibrink.
Tickets for the 2025 Scotties Match of Hearts will be bought at https://www.curling.ca/2025scotties/tickets/
