News National

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Charlottetown’s Adam Casey stunned Olympic gold medallist and hometown hero Brad Jacobs 5-4 during Draw 3 Thursday at the National.

Both teams now hold 1-1 records in the second Grand Slam of Curling tournament of the season. The foursome of Casey, third Josh Barry, second Anson Carmody and lead Robbie Doherty represent the first team from P.E.I. to play in the series.

Casey never trailed opening with the hammer and scoring a deuce in the second to grab an early 2-0 lead. The game turned into a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded singles in three and four. Jacobs tied it with a deuce in six and the teams alternated singles again in seven and eight as Casey held the hammer in the extra end and drew to the four-foot circle for the winning point.

Elsewhere in Draw 3, defending champion Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene climbed to a 2-0 record scoring two in the seventh and stealing a pair in the eighth to lift his team to a 6-5 victory over Stoney Creek’s Mark Kean (0-2) in Battle of Ontario matchup.

Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers climbed to 2-0 as well with a 9-3 rout in six ends over Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz (0-2). Carruthers scored deuces in the first and third ends and added a five-ender in the sixth to ice the game early. Carruthers made short work in his morning draw match as well defeating Rob Rumfeldt of Guelph, Ont., 6-1 in five ends.

Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher is also up 2-0 in the National following a 6-4 win over Calgary’s Kevin Koe (1-1). After giving up a steal in the first, Bottcher recovered with a deuce in the second followed by a steal of one in the third. Koe was forced to take a point in four and Bottcher extended his lead matching with a single in five and a steal of one in six. Koe grabbed two in the seventh end, but Bottcher held the hammer coming home and tacked on another point.

American John Shuster fended off Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 8-7. Shuster (1-1) scored three in the opening end and stole one in the second for an early 4-0 lead. The three-time Olympian added four points in the fifth for a commanding 8-2 advantage. Laycock (1-1) closed the gap with a three-ender in the sixth and Shuster conceded two points in the eighth to hold on.

Round-robin play runs through Friday night at the Essar Centre with the top eight teams overall qualifying for Saturday’s quarterfinals. The semifinals are on tap Saturday with the final scheduled Sunday.