SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers defeated Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher 9-2 in five ends during Draw 8 action Friday to cap the round robin with an undefeated 5-0 record at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling National.
Carruthers settled for a single in the first but was able to pull away with steals of three in the second and two in the third to lead 6-0.
Bottcher’s hit and stick in two did not work out as planned and his shot rock rolled out as Carruthers stole three. Facing two in the third, Bottcher tried to make a tricky runback but didn’t get the right angle and gave up another steal.
Bottcher, the 2012 world junior champion, got on the board with a deuce in the fourth but the two rinks shook hands after Carruthers added another three points in five.
Team Bottcher finished the round robin with a 4-1 record and qualified for the first time in their careers at a Grand Slam event.
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Elsewhere, Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock (3-2) scored four in the seventh to win 9-5 over Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen (3-2). Laycock earned a three-ender in the fourth to jump ahead by one but McEwen grabbed a point in the sixth to knot it up.
Hometown hero Brad Jacobs (2-2) kept his playoff hopes alive by stealing one in the final end and lift his team to a 4-3 win over Calgary’s Matthew Blandford (2-2).
Charlottetown’s Adam Casey (2-3) scored three in the fourth, added three more points with a steal in five and stole two more in six to win 9-2 over Mark Kean (1-4), from Stoney Creek, Ont.
American Heath McCormick (3-2) scored two in the seventh and ran Jeff Stoughton (2-2) out of rocks in the eighth to win 7-4. Stoughton, from Winnipeg, was facing a quarry of red rocks in the second but landed his final yellow stone into the four-foot for shot rock to grab one. McCormick scored three in the third and the two rinks traded deuces through the fifth and sixth ends.