Team Homan claims Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials gold

One gold is in the bank, and now the quest for another begins immediately for Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan.

Homan’s two-time reigning Canadian and world champions completed a sweep of the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials, presented by Connect Hearing, best-of-three women’s final Saturday at the Scotiabank Centre, defeating Team Christina Black of Halifax 12-3.

With the victory, Homan, vice-skip Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes, alternate Rachelle Brown and coach Heather Nedohin will be nominated to the Canadian Olympic Committee to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy.

“Pretty surreal,” marvelled Fleury. “I can’t believe (it); we’ve finally won enough games to stop curling. That was a grind; they’re such an amazing team. Everyone on the field — we had to bring our best every game.

“And it’s just hard to believe that we’re going to Italy.”

It was a different Team Homan on the ice Saturday than the one who was pushed to the limit in Friday’s opener before grinding out a tense 5-4 victory. The combination of being on the verge of an Olympic berth and ice conditions that improved dramatically due to the cooler, drier weather clearly had a positive effect.

Homan manufactured a skip’s deuce in the first end, making a wonderful draw around a corner guard with her first, aided by a superb sweep by the combination of Miskew and Wilkes, and then drawing for the second point after Black’s freeze attempt didn’t hit the mark.

Team Black, rounded out by vice-skip Jill Brothers, front-enders Marlee Powers, Karlee Everist and Jenn Baxter, and coach Stuart MacLean, rebounded with a game-tying deuce in the second, but in the third, the trip to Italy was all but booked.

Team Homan had four stones tucked in behind a centre guard, and was sitting first and second shot. When Black was heavy on a last-stone freeze attempt, Homan was left with a short raise of one of her stones in the four-foot to push a Team Black stone further back and score a decisive four points and take a 6-2 lead. That would be more than enough to close the deal.

“(Homan) was incredible,” praised Fleury. “I don’t think she missed anything actually. She was throwing the rocks so well. She was reading the ice really well, she had great feel out there. She had an amazing performance, for sure. You never really (feel a game is over); it’s curling and anything can happen at any moment. So we just tried to keep making shots, focus on precision and battle right until the very last shot.”

It will be a third Olympics for Homan, who competed with Miskew at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, and played mixed doubles with John Morris in 2022 in Beijing. It will be a first trip to the Olympics for Fleury, Wilkes and Brown, and especially satisfying for Fleury, who lost in the 2021 Trials final in an extra end to Team Jennifer Jones, and had doubts about her curling future after the loss.

“You never really know at the end of a quad,” she said. “There’s usually so many team shakeups; you don’t really know where you’re going to land, if you’re going to keep playing. I’d say there was a lot of uncertainty four years ago about my future in the sport.

“Then Rachel called and got this amazing opportunity to join this incredible team. So I’m thankful for that.”

Team Homan will play its opening game at the Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 12, against Denmark’s Team Madeleine Dupont.

“We’re feeling really good about our game, the support within the team, and the people that we have,” said Homan. “I think we’re leaning on that, and the last two years of the Scotties, and the pressure, and then wearing the Maple Leaf (at the World Championships), and then rising to that occasion. Those were the things we’re leaning on, the things we’re pulling from.”

For Team Black, it was another significant step up the ladder on the Canadian women’s curling scene, following up on its bronze-medal finish at the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont. The team is one of the pre-qualified teams for the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Jan. 23-Feb. 1 in Mississauga, Ont.

But before that, Team Black can reflect on a spectacular eight days among friends and family in Halifax.

“Oh my goodness, this has been just a dream week,” said Black. “We couldn’t pull it off, but that’s OK. We wanted to be able to look back on this week and be happy with how we played and have the best memories for the rest of our lives because this was such a unique opportunity to play here in front of a home crowd. We enjoyed every moment out there. I’m so proud of our team for fighting through that whole week and just sticking together and believing in each other and believing in this magic.”

The men’s final resumes Saturday at 7 p.m. AT, as Team Brad Jacobs of Calgary looks to complete a sweep of the best-of-three series against Team Matt Dunstone of Winnipeg. Team Jacobs opened the final Friday night with a dramatic 9-8 victory, scoring two in the 10th to nail it down.

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials are available by CLICKING HERE.

TSN and RDS will provide coverage of the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials, go to www.curling.ca/2025trials/tickets.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2025trials/nouvelles.