News Tour Challenge

PARADISE, N.L. — It was an electric atmosphere for home-province heroes Team Brad Gushue on Saturday afternoon at the Tour Challenge.

Gushue, from nearby St. John’s, scored a 4-2 victory over Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., that had the capacity crowd on hand at the Paradise Double Ice Complex on its feet for the quarterfinals.

The low-scoring affair only had one multi-point end when Gushue scored a deuce in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. Howard was forced to hit and stick for a single in the seventh and Gushue nailed his final shot coming home with the hammer to reach the semifinals. 

Gushue now faces Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen, who was the first through to the semis with a 6-1 win in five ends over Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. McEwen broke a 1-1 tie scoring three in the fourth and stole two in the fifth when he forced Jacobs to a draw attempt for a single but the rock was just wide of the button.

American John Shuster earned a stunning 6-4 upset over Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers to advance. Shuster counted three in the sixth end to grab a two-point lead. Carruthers, who went undefeated 4-0 through the round robin, was forced to another single in seven and Shuster had an open draw coming home to seal up the victory. 

Shuster meets Calgary’s Kevin Koe, who completed the comeback over Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher 7-6. Koe trailed 4-1 at the fourth-end break and knotted it up with a three-ender in five. Bottcher took two in six to regain the lead, but Koe charged right back matching with a deuce in seven and stole a point in the final end to win.

The men’s and women’s semifinals will take place Saturday night at 9 p.m. NT. Watch live on Sportsnet ONE.

NOTES: The Tour Challenge is the first of two new tournaments on the expanded seven-event 2015-16 Pinty’s GSOC season and features 30 men’s and 30 women’s teams split into two tiers. … Winners of the Tier 1 divisions also receive berths to the second new Pinty’s GSOC event, the season-ending Champions Cup. … Tier 2 champions earn byes to the next Grand Slam, the Masters, running Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 in Truro, N.S.