Harnden improves to 4-4 on Wednesday morning

NEWS RELEASES

CANADIAN CURLING ASSOCIATION

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Ontario Takes Over First HAMILTON -- Ontario’s Glenn Howard took over sole posession of first place here at the Tim Hortons Brier Wednesday morning.

Howard thrashed New Brunswick’s Paul Dobson 11-1 in just six ends to improve his team’s record to 7-1.

Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton, who had been tied with Howard heading into the draw, is now alone in second place at 6-2 following a 10-7 loss to Saskatchewan’s Pat Simmons.

The win improved Simmons to 5-3, the same record as Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue and Alberta’s Kevin Martin.

Gushue and Martin went head-to-head on the morning draw and the 2006 Olympic gold medallist outlasted his Alberta rival, scoring two in the extra end to win 8-6.

“To win that game, in the situation that we are, was just huge,” Gushue said afterward. “It’s huge for the week.

“It puts us back into good shape. Especially with Pat beating Jeff, we saw that before our game was over, we knew we couldn’t afford another loss.

“We looked over the standings pretty well last night and realized that three (losses) might pretty much be as much as you can have.”

In the only other game on the morning draw, Nova Scotia’s Mark Kehoe fell 10-6 to Northern Ontario’s Al Harnden. Northern Ontario improved to 4-4 with the win, while Nova Scotia fell to 2-6.

The Brier resumes Wednesday afternoon when Manitoba plays BC, New Brunswick plays PEI, Newfoundland plays NWT/Yukon and Northern Ontario plays Quebec.

TSN is broadcasting the draw live, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. **********************

Ontario, Manitoba Tied for First Heading into Wednesday HAMILTON -- Ontario’s Glenn Howard moved back into a share of first place, Alberta’s Kevin Martin kept pace with the leaders, Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue kept his playoff hopes alive and New Brunswick’s Paul Dobson finally got a win here Tuesday night at the Tim Hortons Brier.

Howard improved to 6-1 on Draw 11 with a 9-4 win over PEI’s Peter Gallant. Howard was leading a tight game by a score of 5-4 when he removed a PEI stone biting the button to take four in the eighth end and prompt Gallant to concede.

The win gives Howard a share of first place with Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton heading into Wednesday. Gallant falls to 1-6.

Alberta’s Martin scored back-to-back three-enders in the sixth and seventh ends to put away NWT/Yukon’s Jamie Koe 10-2. The win improved Martin to 5-2, while Koe fell to 4-3 with his third straight loss after opening at 4-0.

Newfoundland’s Gushue did his playoff chances a favour by dropping Quebec’s Pierre Charette 8-2. Gushue opened this tournament at 1-3, but has now won three straight to improve to 4-3 and stay within striking distance of a playoff spot. Quebec falls to 3-4.

Gushue said after the game that’s he’s feeling better about how his team is playing. “We’re starting to get some of the breaks that were going against us, going for us,” Gushue said. “I’m pleased.”

But perhaps the happiest man at Copps Coliseum Tuesday night was New Brunswick’s Dobson, who got his first win of this event with a 9-4 thrashing of BC’s Dean Joanisse. Dobson improved to 1-6, while Joanisse fell to 3-4.

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