Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue rink, which includes PEI natives Brett Gallant and Adam Casey, opened with a win on Wednesday at the season-ending Players’ Championship, at the former Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, stealing ends 5 through 7 of the eight end contest for a 5-2 win over Toronto’s Mark Kean foursome. The Gushue rink will face Coldwater Ontario’s Glenn Howard (2-0) today at 1 pm Atlantic time, with the game featured live on Sportsnet, and will play Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen (1-0) tonight at 8:30 Atlantic.
Photo (L-R): Brad Gushue, Brett Gallant, Geoff Walker, Adam Casey
In other action yesterday, Sweden’s Niklas Edin picked up their first win, edging Edmonton’s Kevin Martin 4-3 in an extra end. Howard doubled Toronto’s Greg Balsdon (0-2), while Toronto’s John Epping, who upset Howard in last year’s men’s final in Summerside, lost 8-2 to Jim Cotter of Kelowna, BC to fall to 0-2. Cotter is 1-1.
On the women’s side, Canadian champ Rachel Homan and world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland both recorded wins, with Homan beating Renee Sonnenberg of Grande Prairie, Alta. 6-3 to go to 2-0, and Muirhead doubling Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink 6-4 to improve to 1-1. Kleibrink is 0-2.