(by Jonathan Brazeau) SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Charlottetown’s Adam Casey drew his final stone of the extra end into the four-foot to score one and stun Olympic gold medallist Brad Jacobs 5-4 during Draw 3 at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling National.
Casey scored a deuce in the second to grab an early 2-0 lead. The game turned into a back-and-forth affair as the two rinks traded singles through the third and fourth ends and Jacobs added one in the fifth to tie it up 3-3. Casey pushed back into the lead with a point in the seventh and Jacobs knotted it up again in eight.
Pinty’s GSOC National: Latest scores & stats
Elsewhere in Draw 3, defending champion Glenn Howard, from Penetanguishene, Ont., (2-0) scored two in the seventh and stole a pair in the final end to lift his team to a 6-5 victory over Kean (0-2). Team Kean, from Stoney Creek, Ont., broke a 2-2 tie with a single in four followed by a double steal in six.
Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers climbed to a 2-0 record with a 9-3 rout in six ends over Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz. Carruthers scored deuces in the first and third ends and added a five-ender in the sixth to ice the game. Team Carruthers made short work in its morning draw match as well defeating Team Rob Rumfeldt 6-1 in five ends.
Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher is also up 2-0 in the National following a 6-4 win over Calgary’s Kevin Koe. Bottcher jumped out to lead 3-1 with a deuce in the second and a steal of one in the third. Koe settled for a point in four but Bottcher extended his lead with a single in five and a steal of one in six. Koe grabbed two in the seventh end.
American John Shuster held off Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock to win 8-7. Shuster (1-1) earned a triple in the opening end, stole one in the second and scored four in the fifth to build an 8-2 lead. Laycock (1-1) closed the gap with a triple in the sixth. Shuster gave up a steal of two in the eighth.