
Team Walker/Muyres bounce back with crucial win at Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials
LIVERPOOL, N.S. — Leaving the ice after a seven-point loss on Tuesday at the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials, might have had an adverse effect on many teams.
But as veterans of the mixed doubles discipline, Laura Walker (Edmonton) and Kirk Muyres (Humboldt, Sask.) are well aware that scores don’t tell the whole story, and that their 11-4 setback to Team Rachel Homan/Brendan Bottcher (Beaumont, Alta./Spruce Grove, Alta.) wasn’t as lopsided as the score may have indicated.
So it was not a surprise that the 2018 Canadian champs came back Wednesday at Queens Place Emera Centre with a solid performance to remain in the playoff hunt, scoring two in the eighth end to beat Team Jessica Zheng/Victor Pietrangelo (1-4; Niagara Falls, Ont.) 8-7.
“It was (a good bounceback),” said Walker. “We didn’t feel like we played an 11-4 loss; we were just on the wrong side of the inch, so we just wanted to make sure that we didn’t change too much, honestly. We just continued to do our thing and went back to basics and I think we did a really good job of communicating lots today, figuring out the ice and getting it done.”
With the win, Team Walker/Muyres improved to 4-1, and moved into a three-way tie for first place in its eight-team round-robin pool, deadlocked with Team Homan/Bottcher and Team Brittany Tran/Rylan Kleiter (Calgary/Saskatoon). Team Tran/Kleiter handed Team Homan/Bottcher its first loss on Wednesday, prevailing 7-6.
Team Zheng/Pietrangelo has turned some heads here as one of the youngest teams in the event; the duo will be headed to Italy in short order to represent Canada in mixed doubles at the FISU Winter World University Games.
They pushed Team Walker/Muyres to the very end, and only lost on a measure in the eighth.
“They made a lot of shots,” said Walker. “ Every time we kind of thought we had something going they’d make a big one and that’s a tough kind of game to stay patient in, when you feel like you have opportunities and you’re not quite capitalizing. We just said to hang on until the very last shot and all we needed was a millimetre.”
They got it, and it was another example of the mindset needed for success in mixed doubles curling, said Muyres.
“I mean the game is ebbs and flows, ebbs and flows, so you just gotta roll with the punches,” he said. “I think, to be honest, the team that does that the best this week is going to have good results so we’re really going to pride ourselves on that, just rolling with it and enjoying our time out there. So far so good.”
While Team Walker/Muyres were taking care of their business, it was Team Tran/Kleiter that shook things up the most by handing Team Homan/Bottcher its first loss.
Tran had an open hit for the win in the eighth end, and she and Kleiter did a magnificent job of not allowing the potent Homan/Bottcher tandem to build any game-changing big ends. It was the kind of win that should send a message to the other 15 teams in Liverpool about their playoff potential.

“Yes, I think so,” agreed Tran. “Our pregame chat on that one was just to bring the confidence. We know that we can be here and play against top teams and that we can do it. I think that (win) just builds on that going into the rest of the week.”
In the other afternoon games, Team Jennifer Jones/Brent Laing (3-2; Barrie, Ont.) toppled Team Paige Papley/Evan Van Amsterdam (2-3; Edmonton); and Team Anne-Sophie Gionest/Robert Desjardins (1-4; Alma, Que./Saguenay, Que.) defeated Team Nancy Martin/Steve Laycock (1-4; Wakaw, Sask./Saskatoon).
In morning draw results, Team Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (5-0; Chestermere, Alta.) extended its win streak with an 8-1 win over Team Jaelyn Cotter/Jim Cotter (2-3; Vernon, B.C.); Team Lisa Weagle/John Epping (4-1; Ottawa/Toronto) was a 9-5 winner over Team Melissa Adams/Alex Robichaud (1-4; Fredericton, N.B.); Team Jennifer Armstrong/Tyrel Griffith (3-2; Rothesay, N.B./Kelowna, B.C.) scored two in an extra end to beat Team Taylor Reese-Hansen/Corey Chester (1-4; Kitimat, B.C./Victoria) 8-6; and Team Kadriana Lott/Colton Lott (3-2; Gimli, Man.) knocked off Team Riley Sandham/Brendan Craig (1-4; Guelph, Ont.).
The 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials will continue with draws Wednesday at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Playoff action begins on Thursday, with the top two teams from each pool crossing over to compete for a direct spot in the Page 1v2 game. The losers drop down to play the third-placed teams in each pool for the spots in the Page 3v4 game.
From there, the winner of the Page 1v2 advances to the final, while the loser will play the winner of the Page 3v4 game in the semifinal. The semifinal winner moves on to the gold-medal match on Saturday, Jan. 4, where the Trials champion will be crowned.
The winning team on Saturday will represent Canada at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship April 26-May 3 in Fredericton, N.B.
That event also will decide most of the countries that will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, and if Canada qualifies for the Games, it will be the Trials winner in Liverpool who will wear the Maple Leaf in Italy.
Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials are available by CLICKING HERE.
Streaming for the Trials will be available on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel.
Ticket information for the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials is available by CLICKING HERE.
This story will be posted in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2025mixeddoublestrials/nouvelles/?lang=fr