McEwen outlasts Stoughton, caps Syncrude National round-robin undefeated
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Mike McEwen heads into the Syncrude National playoffs with a perfect 5-0 record after completing his round-robin schedule following a 6-4 win over Jeff Stoughton during an all-Winnipeg matchup Friday.
McEwen led 3-0 early after scoring one in the first and stealing back-to-back singles in the second and third ends. The teams alternated deuces in four and five. The defending champion Stoughton (2-2) took two more points in six to close within one, however, McEwen blanked the seventh to retain the hammer for the final frame and tacked on another single.
Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., heads into the playoffs with a 4-1 record after upending Brier champion Kevin Koe of Calgary 8-4. It was a textbook first half for Howard, who scored deuces in one and three while forcing Koe to singles in two and four to lead 4-2 at the break. Howard, who has won 13 Grand Slams as a skip, padded his lead with a three-ender in the fifth. Koe, who captured the Canadian men’s title this past Sunday, took two in the sixth and shook hands early after Howard added another single in the seventh.
The Syncrude National is the third leg of the four-stop Grand Slam of Curling series. Howard won the Masters in November in Abbotsford, B.C., while Koe took home the Canadian Open two weeks later in Medicine Hat, Alta.
Kevin Martin improved to a 3-1 record defeating Brendan Bottcher 8-2 in an all-Edmonton matchup. Martin scored a deuce in the first, stole one in the second and swiped two more points in the third to roll out to an early 5-0 lead. Bottcher broke the shutout taking two in the fourth, however, Martin continued to pile on the points with a single in five followed by a steal of two in six.
Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock (2-2) earned a 6-4 extra-end victory over Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi (0-5).
Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson handed Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., his first loss of the tournament with an 8-1 rout in only four ends. Eriksson jumped out of the gate scoring three in the first and stealing one in the second. Gushue settled for his single in three and shook hands way early when Eriksson added four in the fourth. Both teams now hold 3-1 records.
