Ackermans remain perfect at Mixed Doubles Trials

Jason Ackerman and Colleen Ackerman are taking advantage of another chance to wear Canadian colours at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. The husband-and-wife pair from Regina won the 2012 Canadian Mixed Championship, but then lost in a playoff to teammates Dean Hicke and Chantelle Eberle for the right to play for Canada at the 2012 world championship in Turkey.

Colleen Ackerman holds the broom for husband Jason during action on Friday at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials in Leduc, Alta. (Photo, Alexander A. Patton / CAPTAINmedia)

This year, with the introduction of the Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, the first national championship in the discipline, the Ackermans are in contention again, and are perfect through three rounds of competition at the Leduc Recreation Centre in Leduc, Alta. Ackerman and Ackerman improved to 3-0 in Pool C on Friday with a 7-1 win over Lyle Walker and Kristen Walker of Alberta (0-3), stealing deuces in the second and third ends en route to the win. In other Pool C play in the 32-team competition, Manitoba’s Kelsey Boettcher and Kelly Lauber (2-1) stole six points in a 7-1 win over Kyle Leach and Cori Dunbar of Alberta; Matt Blandford (Alberta) and Darah Provencal (B.C.) improved to 2-1 by scoring three in the eighth end for an 8-7 win over Tyler Tardi and Dezaray Hawes of B.C. (2-1); and Manitoba’s Sean Grassie and Karen Klein (2-1) scored an eighth-end deuce for a 7-6 win over Dale Parker and Janice Parker of Alberta (0-3). In other third-round results: Pool A — Dustin Kalthoff and Nancy Martin of Saskatchewan (3-0 won an early showdown of unbeaten teams, taking two in the eighth end for a 5-4 win over Nova Scotia’s Mark Dacey and Heather Smith-Dacey (2-1); Ontario’s Scott McDonald and Jaclyn Rivington remained unbeaten (3-0), stealing three in the second end in a 7-2 triumph over Ernie Daniels and Sarah Daniels of B.C. (1-2); Michel Briand and Genevieve Frappier of Quebec (2-1) picked up a crucial steal of three in the fifth end for a 7-3 win over Norm Richard and Debbie Girard of B.C. (0-3); and Matt Lang and Jessica Hanson of Saskatchewan (1-2) were 7-5 winners over Avery Hughson and Shelby Wilson of New Brunswick (0-3). Pool B — Dean Hicke and Chantelle Eberle of Saskatchewan (3-0) improved their hopes of a second straight trip to the world mixed doubles championship with a 7-5 win over Cole Tenetiuk and Alison Ingram, also of Saskatchewan (1-2); the Yukon’s Mitch Young and Chelsea Duncan, who competed in the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Championships earlier this season in Fort McMurray, Alta., improved to 2-1 with a 9-5 win over the previously unbeaten Saskatchewan/Manitoba duo of Josh Heidt and Jenna Loder (2-1); Jamie Danbrook and Erin Porter of Newfoundland/Labrador (1-2) stole two in the second end and three more in the fifth in a 12-5 win over Ian Moir and Marta Moir of the Northwest Territories (1-2); and Derek Owens and Danielle Sicinski of Saskatchewan (1-2) knocked off Alberta’s Jason Larence and Melanie Puzzie (1-2) 9-3. Pool D — Robert Desjardins and Isabelle Neron of Quebec remained the lone unbeaten team in the pool (3-0) with an 8-7 win over Alberta’s Derek Kuny and Erica Ortt (0-3); Bob Ziegler and Barb Cressman of Saskatchewan (2-1) handed the Alberta pair of Chris Schille and Erin Carmody its first loss (2-1), romping to an 11-1 triumph thanks to steals of three in the fourth end and two more in the sixth; Mike Armstrong and Ashley Quick of Saskatchewan (2-1) opened the game with four in the first end and added four more in the fifth in a 10-2 triumph over Stephen Shepherd and Donna Davis of Newfoundland/Labrador (2-1); and Robert Smallwood and Jody Smallwood of the Yukon (1-2) hit the win column by scoring a stunning five in the eighth end for an 8-7 win over Steve Chenier and Courtney Chenier of Northern Ontario. The 2013 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials continue on Friday, with games scheduled for  2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The winning team in the four-day competition will earn the right to represent Canada at the World Mixed Doubles Championship, April 13 to 20 at the Grant-Harvey Centre in Fredericton, N.B. The competition format consists of 32 teams (each team consists of one male curler and one female curler) divided into four pools of eight, with the top two from each pool after the round robin plus the four teams with the next-best records advancing to a 12-team single elimination playoff. The gold-medal game is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. MDT. For more information on the 2013 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, including the team list, standings and draw times, go to www.curling.ca/2013mixeddoubles/. For more information on the 2013 World Mixed Doubles Championship, go to: www.wmdcc2013.curlingevents.com/