News National

CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, N.L. — Kerri Einarson rebounded into the win column at the Boost National with a 9-4 victory over Jennifer Jones during Wednesday’s late afternoon draw at CBS Arena.

Team Einarson, from Gimli, Man., improved to a 1-1 round-robin record after giving up a steal in the extra end to fall to Team Scheidegger during Tuesday night’s opener.

“It felt good to have a good rebound game after a tough one last night,” said Einarson, who won the Boost National in 2016 and captured the Players’ Championship with her current squad last season.

Jones, of Winnipeg, started the all-Manitoba matchup with the hammer but gave up a single steal in the first as her final rock sailed right by Einarson’s shot stone in the house.

The nine-time Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling title winner Jones recovered in the second end with a double for a deuce, however, Einarson drew for three points in the third and never looked back from there.

Jones missed opportunities to score multiple points in the fourth and sixth ends having to settle for singles both times. Einarson continued to convert on her hammer chances tapping for two points in the fifth and connecting on a short raise takeout in the seventh for three and early handshakes.

“We got some rocks in some really great spots and really controlled that front,” Einarson said. “We made some really great freezes when needed and just capitalizing on their mistakes was key.”

Team Jones dropped to a 0-2 record with two more round-robin games remaining.

Elsewhere, Team Robyn Silvernagle of North Battleford, Sask., also rebounded to a 1-1 record defeating Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura 8-2.

Silvernagle broke a late tie scoring three in the sixth and added a steal of three in the eighth. Yoshimura, who finished runner-up at the GSOC season-opening Masters, dropped to a 0-2 record.

Switzerland’s Team Elena Stern climbed to a 2-0 record with a 4-3 win over defending champions Team Rachel Homan (0-1) of Ottawa. Stern clipped Silvernagle 7-6 in an extra end during the morning draw.

Team Peter de Cruz of Switzerland moved up to a 2-0 record on the men’s side scoring a deuce in the eighth end to edge Team Glenn Howard (0-1) of Penetanguishene, Ont., 4-3.

Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin squeezed by Team Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland 7-5 in an extra end in a repeat of last month’s European Championships gold-medal match. Edin begins at 1-0 while Schwaller now sits at 0-2.

Boost National action continues at 8:30 p.m. local time. Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at 11 a.m. ET on Sportsnet and streaming online via Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).

Round-robin play runs through to Friday with the top eight teams overall in both divisions qualifying for the weekend playoffs.

NOTES: The Boost National is the third event and second major of the 2019-20 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season featuring 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … A $300,000 combined purse is on the line, split equally between both divisions, with the winners receiving $35,000 each plus berths to the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup in Olds, Alta. … Teams also earn points towards the Pinty’s Cup awarded to the season champions following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship in April.