Howard, Stoughton score first wins at National
PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — Glenn Howard picked his first win of the National while handing Niklas Edin his first defeat with a 7-4 decision Thursday evening at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre.
The defending champion and most recent Grand Slam title winner snapped a 4-4 tie with a three-ender in the seventh to improve to a 1-2 record.
Howard, of Coldwater, Ont., captured his 11th Grand Slam of Curling title as a skip at the Canadian Open in December. Edin, from Sweden, now holds a 2-1 record.
Elsewhere, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen and Edmonton’s Kevin Martin both remain undefeated moving up to 3-0 records. McEwen topped Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., 6-2 in six ends while the reigning Olympic gold medallists Martin earned a 6-4 victory over Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock. Jacobs is now at 2-1 while Laycock slipped to a 1-2 record.
Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton snapped a tie with a single in the seventh and stole three in the eighth to top Toronto’s Mark Kean 6-2. Both teams hold identical 1-2 records.
Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud (1-2) earned his first win of the tournament thrashing Rob Rumfeldt 7-1. Rumfeldt, from Guelph, Ont., remains winless at 0-3.
Four round-robin draws remain starting Friday at 9 a.m. AT with the top eight teams overall, regardless of pools, qualifying for Saturday’s quarterfinals.
