Brad Jacobs stole two in the extra end to beat Brock Virtue 8-6 during Draw 2 action at the Syncrude National in Fort McMurray, Alta., on Thursday.
Jacobs, who won the gold medal at the Sochi Olympics, trailed 6-4 after six ends but tied it up with a single in the seventh and a steal of one in the eighth to send it into the extra frame.
Virtue, from Regina, scored deuces in the first, fourth and sixth ends. Jacobs, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., settled for a single in the second, stole one in the third and added a deuce in the fifth.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen thumped Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher 7-1 in five ends.
McEwen scored a three-ender in the first and stole two in the second to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Bottcher picked up a point in the third to get on the scoreboard before McEwen replied with a single in the fourth and a steal of one in the fifth.
The Syncrude National is the third leg of the Grand Slam of Curling.
Syncrude National: Live schedule & scores | TV schedule
In other Draw 2 action, Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to win 7-3 over Soo-Hyuk Kim from South Korea. Eriksson scored a three-ender in the third and stole deuces in the fourth and fifth ends after Kim opened the scoring with single steals in the first and second ends.
Halifax’s Mark Dacey defeated Pascal Hess of Switzerland 6-4. Dacey broke a 1-1 tie with a three-ender in the third before Hess scored a single in the fourth and stole two in the fifth to knot it back up again. Dacey regained the lead with a point in the sixth and a steal of one in the final frame.
Edmonton’s Kevin Martin scored a point in the extra end to win 6-5 over Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock.
