Four teams undefeated in Championship Pool play

The championship round is well underway at the 2016 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships at the Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto. With the playoffs looming, it was the four teams from the original Pool A who went 2-0 on Thursday in the Championship Pool during the all-important games in the race to the semifinals. Nova Scotia’s Doug MacKenzie, Jocelyn Nix, Richard Barker and Shelley Barker were the first to pull out two wins today against Yukon and Northwest Territories. In their 2:30 p.m. game, N.S. started strong with two in the first end and a steal of two in the second. Yukon rebounded with a phenomenal shot to score five in the third end and jump ahead 5-4. The teams traded points for the remainder of the game with MacKenzie taking advantage of the hammer in the eighth end to score two for a 7-6 win. The 7 p.m. draw saw MacKenzie taking on N.W.T.’s Steve Moss. A three-ender in the third end set the tone for the game and N.S. finished with a 7-2 win. N.S. is currently tied for second with a 6-2 record in the Championship Pool. Alberta’s Micky Lizmore was the second team to secure a 2-0 record in the Championship Pool. After an 8-2 win over N.W.T. during the 2:30 p.m. draw, Lizmore and crew posted a decisive 7-3 win over the Yukon. Alberta remains on top of the standings with an unblemished 8-0 record. Northern Ontario’s Colin Koivula also pulled out two victories on Thursday, going 4-3 against New Brunswick’s Charlie Sullivan and 8-3 over Quebec’s Maxime Elmaleh. Koivula and crew are holding onto second place at 6-2 in the Championship Pool. Bruce Korte’s Saskatchewan also pulled off two wins on Thursday, as the team took down Quebec 7-6 in an extra-end showdown, then went on the defeat New Brunswick 7-4. Saskatchewan holds down third place in the pool with a 5-3 record. New Brunswick, Quebec, N.W.T. and Yukon all suffered two losses each on Thursday. N.B. is presently tied with Saskatchewan for third place in the pool, Quebec sits in fourth with a 4-4 record while N.W.T. and Yukon share the fifth spot in the pool with a 3-5 record. In the Seeding Pool, B.C.’s Dean Joanisse defeated Nunavut’s Ed Macdonald 9-2 and Ontario’s Mike McLean posted a 7-5 win over P.E.I.’s Eddie MacKenzie. Current Standings Championship Pool 8-0 Alberta 6-2 Nova Scotia 6-2 Northern Ontario 5-3 Saskatchewan 5-3 New Brunswick 4-4 Quebec 3-5 Northwest Territories 3-5 Yukon Seeding Pool 5-3 Ontario 4-3 Manitoba 3-4 Newfoundland and Labrador 2-6 British Columbia 1-7 Prince Edward Island 0-8 Nunavut Action continues on Friday with the Championship and Seeding Pools competing at 10 a.m. ET, 2:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET. For event, team and draw information, visit www.curling.ca/2016mixed. For a downloadable copy of the event draw, click here. For a downloadable copy of the team rosters, click here. To watch the live streaming, click here. Draw scores/standings will be immediately available on Curling Canada’s website, www.curling.ca.