(by Danielle Inglis)
Three and four-enders were a common occurrence during Draw 4 of the 2016 Canadian Mixed at the Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto.
The Ontario versus Manitoba match was the live streamed game this draw and featured big ends by both teams in four of the ends.
Ontario’s Mike McLean and Manitoba’s Bob Sigurdson thrilled audiences both at the venue and at home with their high scoring game. Manitoba popped a three-ender in the first end, answered promptly by Ontario with another three-ender in the second. Not to be outdone, Manitoba took back three points in the third end to bring the score to 6-3.
Ontario picked up two points in the fourth and stole another point in the fifth to tie the game 6-6 after five ends. Sigurdson jumped ahead in the sixth end with a four-ender that spelled the end of the game for Ontario and a 10-6 win for Manitoba. Both teams are sitting at 2-1 in Pool B.
Photo by Sonja DiMarco
On sheet C, Nunavut’s Ed Macdonald and Quebec’s Maxime Elmaleh kept the score close, trading single points for the first three ends. Two four-enders in the fourth and sixth ends by Quebec secured the 8-4 win for Elmaleh. Quebec sits at a 2-1 record while Nunavut drops to 0-3 in Pool B.
Alberta’s Micky Lizmore and Saskatchewan’s Bruce Korte had a tight, low-scoring first half of the game. A well-executed split by Lizmore in the sixth end resulted in the team taking a big four-ender and jumping ahead to a 6-2 lead. Korte scored two points in the seventh, but was unable to generate the steal of two needed in the eighth to pick up the win. Alberta finished off the game with a 6-4 victory and leads the standings in Pool A with a perfect 3-0 record.
B.C.’s Dean Joanisse and P.E.I.’s Eddie MacKenzie put on a show for the fans with a back-and-forth game.
MacKenzie forced Joanisse to a single point in the first end, then picked up a four-ender in the second end. After a blank in the third end, Joanisse was again forced to a single in the fourth end. A crowded house in the fifth end saw Joanisse pick up a steal of two to tie the game 4-4. MacKenzie took one in the sixth and stole another point in the seventh to jump ahead 6-4 going into the final end.
The eighth end saw Joanisse attempt a tough across-the-face double for the win, but he couldn’t edge the second rock out of the house and only took one point for a 6-5 loss. Both P.E.I. and B.C. sit at a 1-2 record in Pool A.
Standings after Draw 3
Pool A
3-0 Alberta
2-0 Nova Scotia
1-1 Newfoundland and Labrador
1-2 Saskatchewan
1-2 Prince Edward Island
1-2 British Columbia
0-2 Northern Ontario
Pool B
2-0 Northwest Territories
2-1 Manitoba
2-1 Quebec
2-1 Ontario
1-1 New Brunswick
0-2 Yukon
0-3 Nunavut
The competition continues with draws at 2:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET.
For event, team and draw information, visit www.curling.ca/2016mixed.
For a downloadable copy of the event draw, click here.
For a downloadable copy of the team rosters, click here.
To watch the live streaming, click here.
Draw scores/standings will be immediately available on Curling Canada’s website, www.curling.ca.