Eight Ends: Mike McEwen runs red-hot through the desert

While the tour is cooling down for a bit, provincial playdowns are heating up in Canada.

A number of regions will crown their women’s champions this weekend as the field nears completion for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Meanwhile, most of the men’s teams are prepping for their own playdowns with a handful having already booking their spots to the Tim Hortons Brier.

Here’s a rundown of the busy week that was and what to looking forward to coming up:

1st End: McEwen runs red-hot through the desert

Mike McEwen ran the table to capture the second annual Ed Werenich Golden Wrench Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

McEwen posted a perfect 7-0 record wrapping things up with a 6-1 win over Adam Casey in Sunday’s final.

The Winnipeg native earned 41.851 points with his second tour title victory of the season and has now moved up into 11th on the World Curling Tour’s year-to-date rankings. McEwen is just on the outside looking in for a guaranteed spot to the Princess Auto Elite 10 — the next Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event taking place in March — with the top 10 earning invites. McEwen is roughly three points behind reigning world champ Kevin Koe for 10th and it’ll be interesting to see how it all shapes up when the qualification cut-off date arrives in three weeks.

Before then McEwen will look to defend the Viterra Championship as Manitoba men’s champion.

In the meantime, check out the wicked golden wrench trophy Team McEwen earned.

2nd End: Muirhead takes Glynhill Ladies; Paetz continues strong start to new year

Scotland’s Eve Muirhead was victorious on home ice taking the Glynhill Ladies International in Glasgow.

Muirhead defeated Alina Paetz 8-3 in Sunday’s final to earn her second tour title of the season.

Paetz was playing without second Marisa Winkelhausen, who missed the event due to exams. Former world champion (and team coach) Mirjam Ott stepped in to spare.

Team Paetz has returned to top form in 2017 after starting the season in a bit of a rut and falling out of the Grand Slam picture. The Swiss side was fresh off of winning the International Bernese Ladies Cup the previous weekend and started the year with a semifinal finish at the U.S. Open. With Swiss nationals on the horizon it’s not a bad time for things to finally go their way.

3rd End: Norway’s Walstad wins German Masters

What if I told you a Norwegian team won the German Masters and it wasn’t Thomas Ulsrud? Such was the case Sunday in Hamburg with Steffen Walstad defeating Kyle Smith of Scotland 6-3.

It’s Walstad’s first title on tour following runner-up finishes at the Original 16 WCT Bonspiel and the Mercure Perth Masters earlier this season.

4th End: Comeback season continues for Mallett

Marla Mallett captured the B.C. Scotties title with a 6-3 victory over Diane Gushulak in Sunday’s final. Mallett heads to her fourth Scotties Tournament of Hearts and first since finishing runner-up to Jennifer Jones in 2009. The Walnut Grove native returned to competitive curling after a hiatus and won the Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic earlier this season.

Krista McCarville will represent Northern Ontario for the second season in a row after defeating Tracy Fleury 10-6 in Saturday’s final. McCarville earned silver a year ago at the nationals falling to Chelsea Carey in the final.

Robyn MacPhee came out on top on in P.E.I. defeating Veronica Smith 7-5 in Sunday’s final earning single steals in the final couple ends.

5th end: Big weekend for provincial Scotties

Another action-packed week of women’s provincial playdowns lies ahead beginning Monday in Nova Scotia. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador get underway Wednesday while New Brunswick and Alberta start their tournaments Thursday.

Watch coverage of the Manitoba and Alberta women’s curling championships live Sunday on Sportsnet to see who will represent those provinces at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Feb. 18-26 in St. Catharines, Ont.)

SCOTTIES TOURNAMENT OF HEARTS TEAMS

6th End: J. Koe, MacKenzie bound for the Brier

Men’s provincial playdowns are ramping up across the nation with Jamie Koe making it out of Northwest Territories this past weekend to compete in his 11th Tim Hortons Brier (March 4-12 in St. John’s, N.L.).

Meanwhile, Eddie MacKenzie made it off of the island in P.E.I. by defeating Phil Gorveatt 8-2 in Sunday’s final. Full disclosure: MacKenzie’s crew includes Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling “bumper boy” Robbie Doherty, who represented P.E.I. at the past two national championships playing lead on Team Casey.

7th End: Who will represent Newfoundland and Labrador on home ice?

Two men’s provincial curling championship are on tap this week with one of them determining who gets to play for the home side at the Tim Hortons Brier.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard starts Tuesday and runs through to Sunday at the Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club in St. John’s, N.L.

You have to think Brad Gushue is the slam-dunk favourite considering: A) it is taking place at his home club, and B) he’s won the title 13 times in the previous 14 seasons. While there may have been some questions regarding Gushue’s health after he missed three months at the start of the season due to a hip/groin issue, a victory earlier this month at the Meridian Canadian Open proved he’s capable of playing perfectly even if he’s not feeling quite 100 percent just yet.

Here’s what Gushue told sportsnet.ca about provincials following his Grand Slam victory: “That’s going to be a big event for us, a lot of pressure. We want to make sure we can get through that but there’s obviously no guarantees.

“We’re going to re-shift our focus to that but again going back to me, personally, it’s given me a lot of confidence now that I’m on the other side of this injury. It’s probably just a matter of a few more weeks before I feel 100 percent but even where I am now I can curl at a very high level. As I’ve mentioned in a few interviews this week I can’t use it as an excuse anymore, which is nice. It’s nice to be in that position where I can just start focusing on shots.”

TIM HORTONS BRIER TEAMS

8th End: Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling update

A friendly reminder all-event and weekend passes are available for the Princess Auto Elite 10 running March 16-19 at the Civic Centre in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. Visit phcivic.com or call 902-625-2591 to purchase yours today.