Dean Grindheim and his rink of third Sherry Just, second Cole Tenetuik, and lead Alison Ingram from the Twin Rivers Curling Club in North Battleford are exactly where they’d like to be. 

After two wins on Tuesday over British Columbia’s Sebastien Robillard (3-1; Kamloops) by a score of 5-3 in draw 8 and the Yukon’s Terry Miller (1-3; Whitehorse) by a score of 11-2 in draw 10 thanks to a score of seven in the seventh end, the Saskatchewan foursome has guaranteed themselves a place in the championship round at the 2021 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship from the Canmore Golf & Curling Club.

And while every curler knows to respect the green jackets sported by any Saskatchewan representative at a national competition, Grindheim and company are not a lock to finish pool B in first place. New Brunswick’s James Grattan (3-1; Fredericton), Ontario’s Mike McLean (3-1; Ottawa) and British Columbia are close behind all with a game in hand over Saskatchewan.

The top four teams from each pool will qualify and carry their existing records into the championship round.

In other Tuesday action, draw 7 saw Alberta’s Craig McAlpine (1-3; Edmonton) defeat Nunavut’s Peter Van Strien (0-5; Iqaluit) by a score of 9-2 while Manitoba’s Alex Forrest (2-2; Winnipeg) improved their record with a 9-5 win over Nova Scotia’s Craig Burgess (1-3; Truro). Québec’s Jean-Michel Ménard (3-1; Etchemin/Des Collines) won a key pool A matchup, downing Northern Ontario’s Trevor Bonot (4-1; Thunder Bay) by a score of 6-3.

PEI’s Jamie Newson (left) and Andrew MacDougall (Photos Curling Canada/Ben Dreger)

Draw 8 had Prince Edward Island’s Jamie Newson (1-4; Summerside) earn their first win in dramatic fashion over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Keith Ryan (1-4; Labrador City) in a match that saw two scores of four for each team, with the final being 9-6. Meanwhile, New Brunswick would score four of their own in the first end in an effort to defeat the Yukon 7-3.

Draw 9 featured the Northwest Territories’ Jamie Koe (4-0; Yellowknife) staying perfect with an 8-3 win over Manitoba. Northern Ontario would handily defeat Nunavut by a score of 10-1 in six ends while Québec would win a close contest versus Alberta by a score of 4-3.

In draw 10, Ontario maintained their winning ways with a 10-2 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador while British Columbia took a one-sided contest over Prince Edward Island 10-3.

The 2021 Canadian Mixed Championship continues on Wednesday with draws at 12 noon, 3:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Atlantic.

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2021 Canadian Mixed are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/

PEI (1-4) has one round-robin game left at 3:30 pm AT on Wednesday, against New Brunswick’s Team Grattan (3-1).

Round-robin and playoff games are being streamed on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel. CLICK HERE for the broadcast schedule.

CLICK HERE to read this story at Curling Canada.