Ontario wins first tiebreaker

Ontario, skipped by Chris Gardner of Arnprior, whacked New Brunswick, with Charlie Sullivan of Saint John at the controls, 9-3 in this afternoon’s first tiebreaker at the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. Ontario now advances to a second tiebreaker this evening at 7:00 pm CT against host Manitoba, skipped by Terry McNamee of Hamiota, to determine the third place finisher. Gardner blew the game open with a five-spot in the seventh end, turning a close 3-2 contest into a rout, while taking an 8-2 lead at that point. The winner of tonight’s second tiebreaker will meet Nova Scotia (Paul Flemming of Halifax) in the semi-final Saturday morning at 9:00 am CT. The victor then advances to the championship final at 1:30 pm to face Prince Edward Island, skipped by Robert Campbell of Charlottetown. Flemming is a two-time (1999, 2003) Canadian Mixed champion while Campbell won the 1989 renewal of The Mixed in Brandon, Manitoba.