Curling

They needed three shots at it, but Kelly Scott's rink from Kelowna, B.C., is headed to the Roar of the Rings. 

After missing their first two opportunities to secure a berth to next month's Olympic trials, the 2007 world champions had one last chance on Saturday at the Road to the Roar, and they came up big. 

Scott beat No. 2 seed Sherry Middaugh and her team from Coldwater, Ont., 9-4 in the women's C final. Middaugh conceded after nine ends.

"We were a little down, I mean those first two qualifier games were a test for us, and we didn't come out and play like we wanted to," Scott, the bonspiel's No. 1 seed, said after the win. "We came to play today. It was a really good game."

Middaugh, who lost her first two games of the tournament and was in a win or go home situation in all of her remaining games, struggled early on and wasn't able to recover.  

Scott stole a single in the second, and added a deuce in the fourth and three points in the seventh. Middaugh fought back with a deuce in the eighth, but it wasn't enough.

"It was almost like Sherry was having that little struggle we had in those other two qualifying games," Scott said. "Luckily, today we didn't have that. We felt very much in control of everything today."

Scott and teammates Jeanna Schraeder, Sasha Carter and Jacquie Armstrong were the third women's team to earn a trip to Edmonton. Crystal Webster's Calgary foursome and Krista McCarville's team from Thunder Bay, Ont., each secured berths earlier in the tournament with wins in the A and B final against Scott. 

While Sherry Middaugh wasn't able to come away with a ticket to Edmonton, her husband, Wayne, secured the final berth on the men's side.

A two-time world champion, Middaugh and his No. 2-seeded team from Toronto beat Kelowna, B.C.'s Bob Ursel in one of two men's C finals, by a score of 6-4.

It will be Middaugh's third trip to Olympic trials, and he'll be looking to secure his first trip to the Olympic Games.

"Well, you know what, I don't have the best record at Olympic trials, but I've got three really good guys ahead of me this time, not that I didn't before," a smiling Middaugh said of teammates Jon Mead, John Epping and Scott Bailey.

"We're going on a good roll now. This was a great warm-up for the event."

Earlier Saturday, 12th seed Jason Gunnlaugson and his team from Beausejour, Manitoba, upset No. 2 seed Mike McEwen of Winnipeg in the other C final to win the third berth to the trials. Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg and Pat Simmons of Davidson, Sask., picked up the first two.

McEwen got on the board first with a deuce, but Gunnlaugson answered back in the second with a pair of his own, and then stole two in the third end. The 25-year-old Gunnlaugson was leading 7-6 heading into the 10th and final end, but McEwen scored a single to force an 11th.

Gunnlaugson and his team of Justin Richter, Braden Zawada and Tyler Forrest came up with a single of their own in the extra end to earn the trip to the trials.

Booking that final ticket to the Roar of the Rings was Amber Holland and her team from Kronau, Sask. The No. 10 seed, Holland beat Marie-France Larouche of St-Romuald, Que., in the last women's C final, by a score of 7-3. Larouche conceded after nine ends.

"It's what we played for, for the last four years when we put this team together, so it's nice that we accomplished the first part of that goal," said a grinning Holland of teammates Kim Schneider, Tammy Schneider and Heather Kalenchuk.

"So now we're going to Edmonton, and it's great."

The Roar of the Rings kicks off on Dec. 6.

Already qualified in advance of this week's tournament were Jennifer Jones, Shannon Kleibrink, Stefanie Lawton and Cheryl Bernard. On the men's side, it's Kevin Martin, Glenn Howard, Kevin Koe and Randy Ferbey.