Northen Ontario drops to 1-6 at Tim Hortons Brier

NEWS RELEASES

CANADIAN CURLING ASSOCIATION

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Alberta has first place all to itself Alberta's Kevin Martin is all alone on top of the pack at the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men's curling championship in Winnipeg.

The two-time Brier champion and his half-Edmonton, half-Calgary team — third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert — thumped Kerry Burtnyk of Manitoba 10-3 in Draw 11 play Tuesday night at the MTS Centre to post his seventh straight win.

The last time Martin opened a Brier with seven straight wins was in 1997 in Calgary, where Martin won his last Canadian championship.

"Oh, we were really pumped for this one," said Martin. "You're in Winnipeg, I love this building, and you know the crowd is going to be electric. I think that was our best game, and that's good to see. Those sweepers sure saved a few for us tonight."

Tuesday's game turned in the fifth end when Burtnyk was drawing against four Alberta counters and came up short, apparently because his rock caught some debris. The loss dropped Manitoba to 5-2.

While Alberta was keeping its unblemished record intact, defending Brier and world champ Glenn Howard of Ontario was handed his first loss, bowing 7-5 to Saskatchewan's Pat Simmons.

With the win, Saskatchewan pulled into a tie for second place with Ontario at 6-1 and holding a tiebreaker advantage.

"That was obviously our best game of the week so far," said Simmons after the win over Ontario. "We wanted to use this game as a measuring stick to see if we're ready for the weekend, and I think we are."

In other Draw 11 play, Newfoundland/Labrador's Brad Gushue kept his playoff hopes alive with a 7-6 extra-end win over B.C.'s Bob Ursel. Newfoundland/Labrador improved to 4-3, while B.C. dropped to 3-4.

Also, Prince Edward Island's Peter Gallant won his third straight, scoring three in the ninth end en route to a 10-7 win over New Brunswick's James Grattan. The Islanders moved to 3-4 while New Brunswick dipped to 2-5.

Nova Scotia's Brian Rafuse (2-5), Jean-Michel Menard (2-5), Northern Ontario's Eric Harnden (1-6) and Chad Cowan of the Yukon/Northwest Territories (1-6) all had byes in Draw 11.

Play at the the Tim Hortons Brier resumes Wednesday, with draws are scheduled for 9:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; curltv.com will show the morning draw, while the latter two draws will be on TSN. ******************************

B.C. coming on strong Bob Ursel's B.C. champs have fought their way back into contention at the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men's curling championship in Winnipeg.

Ursel and his Kelowna foursome — third (and last-rock tosser) Jim Cotter, second Kevin Folk and lead Rick Sawatzky — racked up their third straight victory Tuesday afternoon at the MTS Centre, recovering from an early 4-0 deficit to beat Eric Harnden of Northern Ontario 8-5.

The win gave B.C. a 3-3 record, tied for fifth place with Newfoundland/Labrador's Brad Gushue, who had the bye in Draw 10.

"I don't think there's been much of a difference," said Ursel. "Our first three games were against Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan. I think we played pretty well as a team against those guys, and it just wasn't enough. We've stayed pretty consistent for the last three games as well."

Northern Ontario dropped to 1-6 with the loss.

In other action, both unbeaten teams picked up victories in Draw 10.

Ontario's Glenn Howard stole one in the fourth end and two more in the fifth en route to a 10-4 triumph over Chad Cowan of the Yukon/Northwest Territories. The win put Ontario at 6-0, while the Territories fell to 1-6.

Alberta's Kevin Martin, meanwhile, was pushed hard by Brian Rafuse of Nova Scotia before cracking a deuce in the 10th end for an 8-6 victory. Alberta moved to 6-0 while Nova Scotia dropped to 2-5.

In the other afternoon game, Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard picked up his second win in seven games, a 7-6 victory over James Grattan of New Brunswick. New Brunswick dropped to 2-4 after the loss.

Manitoba's Kerry Burtnyk (5-1), Saskatchewan's Pat Simmons (5-1) and P.E.I.'s Peter Gallant (2-4) also had byes on Tuesday afternoon.

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Manitoba cruises to morning victory Manitoba's Kerry Burtnyk took care of business quickly in the morning draw at the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men's curling championship in his home town of Winnipeg.

Burtnyk, backed up by third Dan Kammerlock, second Richard Daneault and lead Garth Smith, opened the game with a deuce, stole one in the second and three more in the third and sailed home with a 9-3 victory over Northern Ontario's Eric Harnden.

With the win, Manitoba improved to 5-1, moving into a tie for first place with a pair of 5-0 teams, Alberta's Kevin Martin and Ontario's Glenn Howard, who both had morning byes.

"It's another game where we came out on top and we get to put another point on the board on the right side," said Burtnyk. "That's a good thing. We played well enough to score some points, so that's good."

Northern Ontario dropped to 1-5 with the loss.

In other action, Nova Scotia's Brian Rafuse snapped a four-game losing streak, pulling out a 6-5 extra-end win over Newfoundland/Labrador's Brad Gushue. With the win, the Bluenosers improve to 2-4, while Newfoundland/Labrador falls to 3-3.

P.E.I.'s Peter Gallant, meanwhile, picked up his second straight win after four straight losses, opening the game with three in the first end and hanging on for a 7-6 victory over Chad Cowan of the Yukon/Northwest Territories. The loss dropped the Territories' record to 1-5.

And in the other game, Saskatchewan's Pat Simmons scored three in the 10th end, then stole the winning point in the 11th when Quebec skip Jean-Michel Menard was just wide with his last-rock angle tap attempt in a 9-8 victory.

Saskatchewan got to 5-1 with the win, while struggling Quebec dropped to 1-5.

New Brunswick's James Grattan (2-3) and B.C.'s Bob Ursel (2-3) also had byes in Draw 9.

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