(by Jonathan Brazeau) Defending champion Glenn Howard eased his way into the Canadian Open semifinals with a 6-3 win over Toronto’s John Epping on Saturday in Medicine Hat, Alta.

Howard, a 15-time Grand Slam champion, snapped a 1-1 tie with a triple in the fifth and a steal of one in the sixth to pull away with a four-point lead.

Glenn Howard and his team are on a serious hot streak, but all the top teams from around the world will be looking to cool them down at the Canadian Open in the Grand Slam of Curling. (Anil Mungal)

Elsewhere, Brad Gushue hit a clutch four-pointer in the final end to lift his St. John’s, N.L., rink to a 7-4 victory over Edmonton’s Kevin Martin.

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Gushue and Howard advance to the 9:30 PM AST semi-finals, along with the winners of the Mark Kean vs Jeff Stoughton and Kevin Koe vs Rob Rumfeldt games now in progress. The final goes Sunday at 2 pm.