Friday morning jumble

Things got interestingly complicated Friday morning at the Capital One Canada Cup in Cranbrook.Going into Draw 7, Morden, Manitoba’s Chelsea Carey could have punched a ticket straight to Sunday’s final with a win over Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin, but an extra-end and a nailbiter of a last draw by Nedohin made the final 8-7, and handed Carey her first loss of the week. Nedohin’s last brick looked a tad off line and a touch heavy, but a rub both slowed the stone and corrected the line for the winner. “That’s a tough loss,” said Carey, now 4-1. “We got every wrong tick and they got all the right ones. The games go like that sometimes and we’ve had a lot of good ticks this week, so we can’t complain.” The win was huge for Nedohin (2-3), who stays alive for a possible tiebreaker if the rest of the draws fall the right way. “We started this morning knowing we were in playoff Sunday, as we call it,” said Nedohin. “It’s like being in the C event where every game is a must win and we’ve been there many times. We’re grinders. We needed a break and fortunately we got one.” And that last shot? “Once it’s out of my hand, I have to leave it to the sweepers and the line caller,” said Nedohin. “Beth (Iskiw) made a great call and saved the shot, and that’s what thirds are supposed to do sometimes – help their skipper.” The other women’s game on the draw also went to an extra end and also succeeded in adding to the logjam at the lower end of the table. Defending champ Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon stayed alive with a cold draw to nip the button against Ottawa’s Rachel Homan for a 9-8 win. The win left both teams at 2-3, all now hoping one of the front- runners tumbles to cause a tiebreaker. For Carey, it’s right back on the ice in the afternoon draw to play Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones, still with an opportunity to grab first with a win. “We probably would have preferred not to have the extra end, but we still control our own fate,” she said. Other games see Nedohin taking on Kronau’s Amber Holland and Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink, also with only one loss, playing Lawton. On the men’s side, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen continued his renaissance. After starting 0-3, he registered his second straight win, 6-4 over The Soo’s Brad Jacobs to keep that squad winless. While still a bit of a reach for a tiebreaker, McEwen says his team is picking up momentum. “We actually had our best game of the week. We made a ton of shots out there and Brad’s team did as well so it definitely forced us to play a good game,” said McEwen.  “And now we have the looming battle tonight and if we win that we have a chance. We’re feeling confident right now so hopefully tonight  we’ll give Kevin (Martin) all he can handle.” Martin and Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton are undefeated at 4-0. Both are on the ice this afternoon against each other. Meanwhile, Coldwater’s Glenn Howard gave his team a good shot at weekend play with a steal in 10 to beat Calgary’s Kevin Koe 7-5. In a see-saw battle, the teams exchanged three-spots, and it looked like an extra-end was looming until Howard locked his last shot on the lid leaving Koe a virtually impossible shot. “We got a big three in seven and then I kinda threw two semi-bad ones and he got three right back.   Then in nine, it looked like we were gonna get four, Kevin made a great shot but I still had a draw for two and it picked,” said Howard. “In the last end, it looks like they are going to get three or four, and if Kevin makes his first one, if he ever angles that in… the game’s over. Fortunately he missed and lo and behold I made a good one.” Howard sits at 3-2 and plays Stoughton tonight. Koe drops to 2-3 and faces Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock, also tonight. In addition to the Stoughton/Martin clash, Laycock (1-3) and Jacobs (0-5) round out men’s play in Draw 8.