Only one team remains unbeaten at Canada Cup

Edmonton’s Kevin Martin is now the only undefeated team at the Canada Cup, presented by Richardson International, after Friday morning’s Draw 8 results. Marie-France Larouche of St-Romuald, Quebec, fell from the unbeaten ranks, losing a close one to defending Cup champion, Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon, 6-5, who had been winless prior to today’s victory. Larouche still leads Section B with a 3-1 mark, but the pack is closing in.  Three teams are at 2-2…Cheryl Bernard of Calgary, Amber Holland of Kronau and Cathy King of Edmonton. Bernard whacked Mary-Anne Arsenault of Halifax, 11-6 in winning her second straight while Holland and King were idle.  Lawton is 1-3. In Section A, Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink climbed into a first place tie with idle Michelle Englot of Regina, both with 3-1 records, after an 11-6 thumping of Kelowna’s Kelly Scott.   Arsenault and Scott dropped to 2-2, while Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ontario is 0-4. On the men’s side, Martin had a bye and remains the Section A leader with a 4-0 record.  He plays his final round robin game tonight at 6:00 pm against Toronto’s Wayne Middaugh. This morning, Middaugh dropped a 9-8 squeaker to Russ Howard’s team, which was skipped to its first victory by third James Grattan.  Howard has departed Yorkton for Summerside, Prince Edward Island, where he’ll represent New Brunswick at the 2009 Canadian Seniors, starting tomorrow (Saturday).  Yorkton’s Gerry Adam filled in at lead. With the loss, Middaugh dropped into a tie with Winnipeg’s idle Mike McEwen, both at 2-2.   Brad Gushue of St. John’s and Howard are now 1-3. In Section B, Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey knocked Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton from the undefeated, with a 9-5 decision in a crucial encounter which may determine first place.  Both teams are now 3-1, each with one more game to play in the round robin. Defending Cup champion Kevin Koe of Edmonton had a morning bye and sits at 2-2, while Ted Appelman of Edmonton and Kerry Burtnyk of Winnipeg are 1-3. The round robin concludes with draws at 1:30 pm and 6:00 pm CT today, after which, unless tiebreakers are required, the crossover Page Playoffs will commence Saturday morning, whereby A1 meets B1, with the winners advancing to their respective finals on Sunday, while the losers go to Saturday’s semi-finals. The other Page games will see A2 meet B2, with the losers eliminated and the winners moving on to the semi-finals. TSN will provide live coverage of the women’s and men’s semi-finals on Saturday, March 21, followed by the women’s (8:30 am CT/10:30 am ET) and men’s (7:30 pm CT/9:30 pm ET) finals on Sunday, March 22. SaskTel Max Local on Demand is also airing all round robin draws, plus the crossover Page Playoff games on Saturday morning, province-wide, on a 24-hour delayed basis.