PEI’s MacKenzie rink was tied at 1 after two ends in this afternoon’s Brier opener in London ON against Brad Gushue and his Newfoundland/Labrador foursome. but then things fell apart, with Gushue taking five in the third end, followed by steals of one, two, one, and two points to end the game after seven ends with a 12-1 score. Other games saw Saskatchewan beat the Territories 6-4, Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba down BC’s Jim Cotter rink 10-4, and New Brunswick’s James Grattan rink steal two points in the final end to edge Ontario’s Glenn Howard rink 5-4. Howard’s nephew Steven, son of  TSN commentator (and Olympic and two-time world champion) Russ Howard, is on the New Brunswick team. Steven is  a former PEI Junior Champion skip, winning in 2005 while attending school here.

Draw two goes at 8:30 pm Atlantic, with PEI taking on the Territories in one of the four games.