News National

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Mike McEwen scored a deuce in the extra end to edge Jeff Stoughton 7-5 in an all-Winnipeg match during Draw 4 Thursday afternoon at the National.

McEwen moved up to a 2-0 record while Stoughton is level at 1-1 in the second Grand Slam of Curling tournament of the season.

Stoughton settled for a single to start but picked up a steal in the second to go up 2-0. McEwen nailed a nose tap for a deuce in the third end to tie it and stole singles in four and five to pull ahead 4-2. It almost looked like Stoughton was going to give up another steal in six, but his rock spun enough into the four-foot circle to give him a point after a measurement.

McEwen was forced to one in the seventh and Stoughton took two in the eighth to force the extra end.

Elsewhere, Masters champion Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., bounced back from a morning draw loss to Brendan Bottcher with an 8-3 win in six ends over Rob Rumfeldt of Guelph, Ont. Gushue (1-1) scored deuces in the first and third ends and stole one in the fourth to pull away 5-1. Rumfeldt (0-2) took two in the fifth to close the gap but shook hands after Gushue sealed the game counting three in the sixth.

Toronto’s John Epping and American Heath McCormick earned identical 5-4 extra-end victories. Epping (2-0) clipped Charlottetown’s Adam Casey (1-2) and McCormick (2-1) edged Calgary’s John Morris (0-2).

Calgary’s Matthew Blandford (1-1) eased his final shot to the button in the eighth for the winning single in a 5-4 victory over Mark Kean of Stoney Creek, Ont. Kean dropped to 0-3.