Scotties: Alberta saved by a roughing penalty

Curlers know. Their broom is an important, important tool. Helps you balance when you're sliding out of the hack to make a shot. Helps you drag rocks farther and holds them straighter, when sweeping.

One more thing, apparently. Your broom can be used to move your teammate rudely and efficiently out of the way of scoreboard danger.

A curling cross check helped Alberta beat Quebec in the Scotties playoffs, by a 7-4 score.

With Alberta lying two and with a 2 point lead in the 10th, Skip Heather Nedohin decided to play a guard that needed to be perfectly placed in order to keep Quebec's Marie-France Larouche from playing a double take out with her final stone for a likely 2 points and a tie.

Nedohin's last stone was just coming to a stop in the aforementioned perfect spot, when disaster most certainly would have struck, if not for the strong arms and quick thinking of Alberta Lead Laine Peters. Her sweeping partner, Alberta Second Jessica Mair fell right over the rock and appeared to be heading right on to it. As I explained in one of my columns yesterday, that would have meant a "burnt rock." It would have been removed, meaning no guard for the Albertans. That would have left Larouche with a pretty routine raise double take out. Tie game, and an extra end would have ensued.

But Peters, sizing up that situation in an instant, used her own broom to, in essence, sweep her teammate away from the path of the rock, deflecting Mair just as she appeared certain to hit it.

Nothing personal, buddy, but get the hell out of the way.

The guard in place, Larouche was forced to try an almost impossible shot for the tie.

Alberta hangs on, and steps ahead to the semi-finals to play Jennifer Jones and Team Manitoba. Winner there, gets a shot at British Columbia's Kelly Scott in Sunday's Scotties Final.

If Alberta goes on to win this whole thing, their key play of the week may just be the cross check Peters laid on her teammate, Mair, in order to save the day in the 3 vs 4 game.

Full contact curling. On display at this year's Scotties.