Brendan Bottcher beats Mike McEwen to start run at Boost National
NORTH BAY, Ont. — Team Brendan Bottcher scored a single in the eighth end to edge Team Mike McEwen 5-4 during the first men’s draw Tuesday in the Boost National at Memorial Gardens.
The all-Canadian matchup was the first Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling game with their new lineups. Bottcher has joined up with Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert out of Calgary while McEwen is now Toronto-based with Ryan Fry, Brent Laing and Jonathan Beuk.
Elsewhere in the draw, Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., picked up a point in the final frame as well to defeat Team Glenn Howard from Penetanguishene, Ont., 7-6.
Calgary’s Team Kevin Koe also grabed a close victory by stealing a point in the eighth to defeat Team Hösli of Switzerland 6-5.
Saskatoon’s Team Colton Flasch scored deuces in the sixth and eighth ends to top Team Joel Retornaz from Italy 7-4.
UP NEXT
The action continues with the second women’s draw at 3 p.m. ET.
Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 12 p.m. ET on Sportsnet, SN NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).
Round-robin play runs through to Friday with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for Saturday and both finals on tap Sunday.
NOTES
The Boost National is the first of six events on the 2022-23 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling calendar and features 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … A combined $300,000 purse, split equally between the men’s and women’s divisions, is on the line. The winning teams receive $35,000 and invitations to the season-ending Kioti Tractor Champions Cup. … Points are also up for grabs in the race for the Pinty’s Cup, which is awarded to the 2022-23 season champions with a $75,000 bonus for the winning teams.
