Playoff match-ups set at Canadian Mixed

The playoffs have arrived at the 2017 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship and it comes as no surprise that Ontario’s Wayne Tuck claims first place after going undefeated through the entire competition so far. In a face-off between the two top teams in the final draw of the championship round Friday night, Tuck and his Ilderton, Ont., foursome of Kimberly Tuck, Jake Higgs and Sara Gatchell, defeated Saskatchewan’s Brady Scharback, Kourtney Fesser, Jacob Hersikorn and Krista Fesser by a score of 6-3 to cement their first-place finish. With the loss, Saskatchewan moves to second place in the final standings with an 8-2 record. In third place, Northern Ontario’s Trevor Bonot stole two points in the eighth end to knock New Brunswick’s Charlie Sullivan out of the playoff mix with a 7-4 win. Joining Ontario, Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario is Manitoba’s Braden Calvert, who edged past Paul Flemming of Nova Scotia, 4-2, to capture the final playoff spot. The semifinal match-ups are now set: Ontario will meet Manitoba, while Saskatchewan will take on Northern Ontario. Semifinals get underway on Saturday at 10 a.m. (AT), with the gold- and bronze-medal games at 2:30 p.m. (AT). Three other teams from the championship round – Martin Ferland (Quebec), Adam Boland (Newfoundland and Labrador) and Paul Flemming (Nova Scotia) – finished out of playoff contention. The Seeding Pool wrapped up on Friday afternoon, with Robert Smallwood (Yukon), Wes Craig (B.C.), and Evan Asmussen (Alberta) taking the top three spots, followed by Veronica Smith (Prince Edward Island), Ed MacDonald (Nunavut) and Donovan Arey (Northwest Territories). For event, team and draw information, visit www.curling.ca/2017mixed. Draw scores/standings will be immediately available on Curling Canada’s website, www.curling.ca.