(by Jonathan Brazeau)
TRURO, N.S. — Calgary’s Kevin Koe and Brad Gushue of St. John’s finished the Masters round robin with unblemished 4-0 records following wins in Draw 12 on Friday.
Kevin Koe at the 2015 Pinty’s GSOC Masters in Truro, N.S. (Photo: Anil Mungal)
Koe stole a point in the final end for a 5-4 victory over Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen, who was heavy on his draw to the button with his last rock coming home.
Team Koe, who won the Tour Challenge Tier 1 event, goes up against reigning world champion Niklas Edin (2-2) in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon (Watch on CBC at Noon ET / 9 a.m PT). McEwen (3-1) meets Reid Carruthers (3-1) in an all-Winnipeg rink match.
Meanwhile, Gushue defeated Scotland’s David Murdoch 7-3. It was a back-and-forth affair to start as the teams alternated deuces in two and three and singles through four and five. Team Gushue, the defending Masters champions, got another two in six and stole a pair in seven that led to handshakes.
Team Murdoch, the 2014 Sochi Olympic silver medallists, finished with a 1-3 record in the round robin.
GSOC Masters Live: Scores | Standings | Draw Schedule | TV Schedule
Elsewhere, reigning Olympic champion Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., scored three in the seventh and ran Jim Cotter, from Vernon, B.C., out of rocks in eight to win 6-3. Both teams advance with 3-1 records and will face off again in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Team Cotter won the Tour Challenge Tier 2 event in September to earn a berth at the Masters.
Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock bounced back to finish the round robin at 2-2 and move on with a 7-1 victory in six ends over two-time reigning Brier champion Pat Simmons of Calgary.
Laycock opened with a deuce in the first end, held Simmons to one in three and then pulled away scoring three in the fourth. Simmons struggled and hit guards with his final shots in five and six to give up single steals.
Simmons, the 2012 Masters champion, is out with a 1-3 record.
Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., charged back to win 8-4 over Toronto’s John Epping. Howard, a six-time Masters champion, gave up steals in three and four to trail 3-1 and rebounded with a three-ender in five. Epping settled for a single in six and Howard completed the comeback scoring four in seven. Howard stays in the mix with a 2-2 record while Epping ends at 1-3.
Laycock and Howard will play in a tiebreaker Saturday morning at 9 a.m. AT with the winner facing Gushue in the quarters.
Women’s event
TRURO, N.S. — Ottawa’s Rachel Homan finished the round robin of the Masters with a perfect record following a 6-2 win over EunJung Kim of South Korea in Draw 13 Friday night.
Rachel Homan at the 2015 Pinty’s GSOC Masters in Truro, N.S. (Photo: Anil Mungal)
Team Homan led 2-1 at the fourth-end break and scored four in the fifth to pull away. Homan made a double takeout with her last throw in six to force Kim to just a single and the teams shook hands.
“I think we just came out strong tonight,” said Team Homan third Emma Miskew. “It’s nice to not have really any pressure. We knew we were in the playoffs and this was just another game to learn the ice a little bit more before heading into the playoffs. So we just went out a little bit more relaxed and it was fun.”
Homan now holds a 4-0 record as she looks to win her third Masters title in four seasons.
GSOC Masters Live: Scores | Standings | Draw Schedule | TV Schedule
Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Kristy McDonald edged reigning Masters champion Val Sweeting of Edmonton with a single in the eighth to win 4-3. Both teams move on with 3-1 records.
Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones (2-2) came back from a late five-point deficit but couldn’t get the steal in the extra end to fall 7-6 to Anna Sidorova (3-1) of Russia.
Sidorova opened with hammer, took one in the first and stole singles in two and three and a pair in four. Jones could only get one in the fifth and Sidorova added a point in six on a call that was too close to call for the measuring stick. Jones narrowed the gap with a three-ender in seven and stole two in seven to tie it.
Jones and Kim clash in a tiebreaker Saturday morning at 9 a.m. AT (admission is free) for the final playoff spot against Homan.
WOMEN’S QUARTERFINALS — SATURDAY, 6 P.M. AT
– Homan vs. Jones/Kim winner
– Arsenault vs. McDonald
– Tirinzoni vs. Einarson
– Sweeting vs. Sidorova
The Masters is the first major and second stop of the 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule and runs through to Sunday at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre.