Gushue, Howard set for showdown in Syncrude National final
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., and Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., punched their tickets to Sunday’s final at the Syncrude National.
Gushue edged Sven Michel of Switzerland 7-6 and Howard cruised past Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 10-6 during Saturday’s semifinal matches.
Michel, who entered the semifinals undefeated at 6-0, led by one until his final shot of the sixth end clipped a guard and Gushue capitalized to score three and pull ahead 6-4. A deuce for Michel in the seventh squared the scoreboard, but handed Gushue the hammer coming home and the 2010 National champion placed his final shot in the four-foot circle for the winning single.
It’s the second consecutive Grand Slam final for Gushue, who finished runner-up to Calgary’s Kevin Koe at the Canadian Open in mid-November.
Meanwhile, Howard scored a deuce to start, forced Laycock to a single in the second and counted another couple of points in the third to lead 4-1. The teams alternated pairs of points in four and five and Laycock tied it 6-6 with a three-ender in six. Howard put an end to the see-saw affair by scoring four in the seventh to bring out the handshakes.
Howard will compete in his second Grand Slam final of the season after winning his 13th title as a skip at the Masters in early November.
Watch the Syncrude National final on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. MT on Sportsnet.
