Lawes tops Reese-Hansen on opening night at Scotties Tournament of Hearts

By Canadian Press on January 23, 2026.

MISSISSAUGA — Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes spoiled Taylor Reese-Hansen’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts debut Friday with a 10-4 victory over the third-ranked side from British Columbia.

Lawes, a two-time Olympic champion, was in control after opening with a three-point end on the first night of round-robin play at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

A breakout season has seen Reese-Hansen climb up the rankings but she struggled with draw weight at times in her first game at the national women’s curling championship.

The 28-year-old skip gave up a steal in the second end before scoring a deuce in the third after Lawes missed a cross-house double takeout.

After the teams exchanged singles, the fourth-ranked Lawes tacked on a deuce in the sixth end and put the game away with a three-ender in the eighth.

In other games, Canada’s Kerri Einarson rolled to a 13-4 victory over Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin. Ontario’s Hailey Armstrong defeated Nicky Kaufman of the Northwest Territories 9-5 and Nova Scotia’s Taylour Stevens outscored Quebec’s Jolianne Fortin 10-7.

Jocelyn Peterman isn’t in the lineup for the Lawes rink as she’s preparing to play mixed doubles with Brett Gallant at the Milan Cortina Games. Laura Walker, who has played as a substitute for the team throughout the quadrennial, is her replacement at second.

Rachel Homan won the Scotties in 2024 and 2025 but is not back to defend her title. She’s preparing to skip the Canadian women’s team at the Olympics.

The 18-team field is split into nine-team pools. The top three teams in each pool at the end of round-robin play will advance to the playoffs next weekend.

The first-place team from Pool A will meet the second-place team from Pool B in the first round.

The winners will go to the Page playoff 1-2 game, while the losing teams meet the third-place finishers from pool play. The winners of those games will advance to the Page 3-4 game.

The 1-2 winner will advance to the final Feb. 1, while the 1-2 loser plays the 3-4 winner in the semifinal.

The winning team will represent Canada at the March 14-22 world women’s curling championship in Calgary.