Kevin Koe and his Calgary team defeated Edmonton’s Kevin Martin rink by a 9-4 score on Monday to win the 32 team Canad Inns Prairie Classic in Portage la Prairie Manitoba. Koe scored three in the first and third ends after Martin missed two shots that would have held the Calgary skip to a single in both ends. The Koe squad pocket $18,000 for their efforts, while the Martin foursome go home with $10,000.
In the semi-finals, Martin doubled Glenn Howard 4-2, while Koe stole the final two ends in a 5-3 win over Jeff Stoughton. Howard and Stoughton each receive $6,000.
In quarter-final play, Kevin Martin had a phenomenal shot in the 8th end to take 4 points and eliminate Brad Gushue and his team which includes PEI natives Adam Casey and Brett Gallant, with an 8-5 win, while Howard edged John Epping 8-7, and Koe came from behind with a deuce in the last end for a 5-4 win over 2010 and 2011 event winner Mike McEwen. The remaining quarter-final saw Stoughton hammer William Lyburn of Winnnipeg 9-1, shutting the game down after four ends with a five-pointer. Gushue, Epping, McEwen, and Lyburn all go home with $4000.