Koe, Homan book Olympic Trials berths with Canada Cup wins

They'll do it a little differently than they did last time.

For both Rachel Homan and Kevin Koe, a shot at the Olympics is coming, as their victories at the 2015 Canada Cup guarantee them spots in the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. Both Homan and Koe had gotten into the 2013 trials through the wringer of accruing points over the long haul. Hopscotching directly into the tournament this time, they can avoid the stress of having to keep hunting for a way into what will, most certainly, be the most important Canadian curling competition of the next two years.

“I’ve never been so happy to win a tournament in my life," said Homan in her Canada Cup post game media scrum. That tells you how fixated she is on getting an Olympics slot. If that particular carrot was not dangling at the end of the Canada Cup, it'd be just another high-end curling tournament. A very good one to be sure, but still just another curling tournament.

HOMAN TOPS SWEETING IN EXTRAS

"An unreal battle by my team to keep ourselves in there and get to the extra," Homan told TSN just after her 8-7, eleven end, win over Team Val Sweeting. "Just so proud of my team. Just really excited right now."

The skip had just made a draw to the back corner of the button, cozying up to Sweeting's final rock of the game. That Homan made the shot wouldn't often be thought of as unusual, except when you consider she'd fired just 67% on her previous nine draws in the game. So there had been struggles in evidence beforehand.

That makes it six tournament wins on the season for Team Homan (including Lisa Weagle, Joanne Courtney and Emma Miskew), which had run up a 25-game win streak before dropping a decision to Sherry Middaugh's foursome on Friday night.

The win served as a little revenge against Sweeting, who'd upended the Homan rink in last year's Canada Cup final. It adds another chapter to what is already a very interesting book of curling tales, as these two teams continue to build a closely contested rivalry.

KOE STOPS MCEWEN TO TAKE CROWN

While Sweeting and Homan took part in a scoring bonanza, Kevin Koe and Mike McEwen kept it close to the vest, scrapping for every inch of ice until Koe busted it open in the ninth, scoring three and taking a 7-3 decision, knocking off last year's Canada Cup winner, Mike McEwen. Singles were forced on the team with hammer five times in this game, with Koe's foursome - including Ben Hebert, Brent Laing and Marc Kennedy - scoring the only other multiple-point end in the fifth, when they picked up a deuce.

In its second full year together, Team Koe is looking very much the part of Olympic contender. Stacked with all-star talent, it's a team that some expected to dominate from the get go last season, ignoring the fact that even a team so deep in abilities still needs time to coalesce.

Of three tournament wins so far this season, this is Koe's biggest and helps push aside disappointments in both The Masters (semi-final loss) and The National (quarter-final loss).

DOES GUARANTEEING A BERTH SO EARLY MATTER? YES. I MEAN NO.

It's arguable as to just what earning an Olympic Trial berth a full twenty-four months ahead of time is worth in the long run. Without a doubt, it is a beautiful thing to know you can play the next two years, basically, without much of a care in the world, as far as your next step towards the podium in 2018 is concerned. Now it can be all about Scotties and Briers, World Championships and cash, without needing to worry about grinding out as many wins and runner-up finishes on the tour as you can get, as you scramble to gather as many qualification points as possible.

As to whether that is important in parlaying a trials berth into wearing the maple leaf, that's where the value can be argued. No matter when you nail that spot down, it's obvious it doesn't matter unless you're holding the hot hand when the trials come along in December of 2017, in Ottawa. Jennifer Jones and her team had long before sewn up a spot for the Sochi trials, back in 2013, by winning the 2011 edition of the Canada Cup. They powered their way through that and a perfect Olympic run to a gold medal. On the other hand, Brad Jacobs and his team were forced to play a pre-trials event to earn a berth in 2013 and they struggled badly before claiming that berth by the skin of their teeth. From there, however, they were spot on, winning the maple leaf and then rolling to gold at The Olympics.

Still, if you ask the Jacobs crew if they'd like to try that again, you can be pretty certain that they would say 'thanks, we'll take that easier route.'

For Homan and Koe, that easier route is now guaranteed, thanks to their wins at this year's Canada Cup.