FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Reid Carruthers came out on top again in a rematch of the Manitoba provincial final against Mike McEwen during Draw 5 action at the Syncrude Elite 10.
Carruthers broke a tied game with a deuce in the fifth, stole one in six to go 2-up and forced the push in the seventh end to earn the 2 & 1 victory.
Both Winnipeg-based teams now hold 2-1 records in the match play Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event.
McEwen gave up a steal in the first end when he couldn’t knock out Carruthers’ shot rock far enough with the angle raise tap, however, he pulled off the shot in the second to square the game. Carruthers sat just one in the third for the push and McEwen grabbed shot rock with his final stone in four to avoid the steal but gave up the hammer.
After Carruthers scored in five, McEwen wrecked on a guard with his final shot in the sixth end to fall behind by two.
Syncrude Elite 10: Scores | Standings
Elsewhere, Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., defeated Switzerland’s Sven Michel 1-up. Jacobs broke an all square game winning the third and fifth ends and take a two-score advantage. The Sochi Olympic gold medallist gave up a point in the seventh but drew to the button with his final shot in eight to prevent another steal and preserve the victory.
Calgary’s Kevin Koe swiped points in the fourth, fifth and sixth ends against Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., and win 3 & 2. Koe improved to a 2-1 record while Gushue is off to the playoffs at 3-1.
The Syncrude Elite 10 uses match play rules. Teams compete to win the most ends by either scoring two or more points (with hammer) or steal at least one point (without hammer). If an end is blanked, the hammer switches and points do not carry over. Winning scores indicate how many ends a team was up by and if there were any ends not played (e.g. a team that won 3 & 2 finished the game 3-up after six ends).