ESTEVAN, Sask. — Brad Jacobs’s rink seems to be doing just fine without regular third Ryan Fry.
The team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., which added Marc Kennedy after Fry started an indefinite leave last month following an incident involving excessive drinking with another squad, improved to 3-0 at the Canada Cup with a 5-4 win over Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg on Thursday morning.
Jacobs won it on last rock, making a wide out-turn tap of a Carruthers stone partially buried in the four-foot.
"It was really great; just an exciting team shot, and really happy to be 3-0," said Jacobs. "(Kennedy) really did his job; he got E.J. and Ryan on it at the right time. He couldn’t have called it any better, and he was a big reason why we made it."
Kennedy feels the team’s chemistry is strong in his first event with Jacobs.
"You get into that inner circle and you see what makes guys tick, what gets them up, why they play, their love for the sport, their values, their morals, their ethics," said Kennedy.
"I’ve been beyond impressed with what I’ve seen, and a lot in common with them, to be honest — more so than I ever thought. I think we’ve meshed together pretty well."
In the other men’s game on Thursday morning, Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., topped Toronto’s John Epping 7-2.
In women’s action, Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg suffered her first loss, falling 6-3 to Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man.
Ottawa’s Rachel Homan improved to 2-1 with an 8-3 win over Edmonton’s Laura Walker, while Calgary’s Chelsea Carey downed Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge, Alta., 7-6.
Two more draws will be held Thursday. The playoffs start Saturday.
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