Howard tops Epping to stay perfect at National
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Glenn Howard’s title defence at the National continues to go as planned as his Penetanguishene, Ont., team improved to a 4-0 record Friday afternoon.
Howard scored four in the seventh end to close out a 9-5 victory over Toronto’s John Epping during Draw 7 action of the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament. With a playoff spot already secure, Howard has one more round-robin game remaining against Calgary’s Matthew Blandford in Draw 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Not everything went as planned for Howard, however, as he faced three counters in the first and his runback was only able to take out two handing Epping a stolen point to start. Howard settled for a single in the second and turned the tables for a 2-1 lead in the third as Epping attempted to blank the end but his runback attempt over-curled and missed the counter to give up a steal. Epping recovered with a deuce in four to lead 3-2 at the break. Howard generated his first three-ender in the fifth to jump back into the lead until Epping knotted it up with a deuce in six.
Epping (2-2) plays hometown hero Brad Jacobs in the evening draw with playoff implications on the line.
Elsewhere in Draw 7, Peter de Cruz of Switzerland played the spoiler running away winning 9-2 in five ends over Masters champion Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L. De Cruz earned a deuce in the first, stole three in the second and iced the game with a score of four in the fifth. Both teams hold 1-3 records in the tournament and will likely miss the playoffs.
Calgary’s John Morris improved to a 2-2 record with a 10-2 rout in five ends over John Shuster, from Duluth, Minn. Morris scored three in the first, stole three in the second and padded his lead with a deuce in four followed by a steal of two in five. Shuster (1-4) took his two points in the third.
Calgary’s Kevin Koe (2-2) scored three in the seventh to win 6-3 over Rob Rumfeldt (0-4), from Guelph, Ont., and Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock (2-2) stole two in the seventh during a 6-5 victory over American Heath McCormick (2-2).
