PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. — Chelsea Carey and Colin Hodgson defeated Catlin Schneider and Nancy Martin 9-7 in a tiebreaker Friday morning to claim the last playoff spot at the mixed doubles Olympic curling trials.
Carey/Hodgson scored a deuce in the extra end to reach the eight-team playoff at Stride Place. Both teams completed round-robin play with 5-3 records.
A modified double knockout playoff will decide which four teams qualify for the Page playoff.
Carey/Hodgson will next play the top-seeded duo of Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman in the first round. In other matchups, Laura Crocker and Geoff Walker will play Val Sweeting and Brad Gushue, Jennifer Jones and Mark Nichols will take on Jill Officer and Reid Carruthers while Dana Ferguson and Brendan Bottcher face Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris.
The gold-medal game is scheduled for Sunday.
The winner will represent Canada when mixed curling doubles makes its Olympic debut next month at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
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