Homan defeats ancient German skip

Rachel Homan and her rink are hanging around near the top of the leaderboard, keeping playoff chances alive and – for the first time – commenting on the difficult conditions.

After beating Germany and their 102-year-old skip Andrea Schopp this morning, Homan noted in this Canadian Press story that the team was battling the streaky frozen pebble.

"Maybe once or twice the lines tricked us and that was pretty frustrating but it was a really well-played game by my team," Homan said. "We're just trying to hang in there with the ice and we pulled itout."

This, to my knowledge, is the first time she’s acknowledged the fact that the ice in Riga, Latvia is causing problems for the curlers. So far, she’s been pretty mum about what seems to be (from the comfort of my TV anyway), some tricky ice.

I think Major Morris has probably drummed into the gals that there’s nothing you can do about the ice other than deal with it. Pretty smart thinking and something that we didn’t see from all teams at the Brier.

It goes to show you just how good the conditions are at most major events these days. When you get something that has runs in it or rocks that aren’t matched, it can throw players off.

Homan’s win over German skip Schopp – who won her first world championship a year before Homan was born – had the team scored at 83 per cent while Homan was at 86, much better than Schopp’s 73.

A packed crowd few spectators seemed to love the Canadian win.

A few dozen fans were on hand for the morning draw at a quiet Volvo Sports Center. A pocket of flag-waving Canadian fans cheered on the national champions from the Ottawa Curling Club.

In any case, Homan doesn’t have time to worry. She and her Canadian mates simply can’t lose another game if they hope to have a shot at winning this shoot-out.