THE CANADIAN PRESS
DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — Edmonton’s Kevin Martin and Pat Simmons of Davidson, Sask., each moved within a win of qualifying for the men’s quarter-finals of the Grey Power Players’ Championship curling tournament after posting a pair of victories on Wednesday.
Martin, the reigning Olympic champion, improved to 2-0 in the final Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event of the season after doubling Jake Higgs of Harriston, Ont., 6-3 in the morning draw before sliding past Bob Ursel of Kelowna, B.C., 9-2.
Simmons picked up his second tournament victory this evening after scoring three points in the second end en route to defeating Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers 7-3.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg heads a list of four teams with perfect 2-0 records.
Jones, Kelly Scott of Kelowna, Heather Nedohin of Edmonton and Eve Belisle of Montreal can all advance to the quarter-finals with a third round-robin win this week.
In the afternoon match against Ursel, Martin seized control of the game in the second end, executing an open draw for three points to jump ahead 3-1.
Leading 4-2, Martin ended the game in the fifth frame with a pick for five points.
"We definitely had some rust earlier today (against Higgs) and even still a little bit (against Ursel) as well," said Martin. "It’s all about, in this event, trying to get a little better each game because the playoffs are so tough. So far so good."
Jones remained in the hunt for her fourth career Players’ Championship title in the past five seasons with a 7-6 decision over Calgary’s Crystal Webster.
With Webster ahead 4-3 after four ends, Jones surged back into the lead in the game’s middle stages, scoring two points in the fifth end followed by a steal of one point in the sixth.
Tied at 6-6 in the final end, Jones secured the victory without having to throw her final stone as Webster came up heavy and wide on her draw attempt around a rock in the top of the eight-foot.
"We still haven’t been as sharp as we’d like to be," said Jones following the victory. "It’s been a little bit sloppy on our part so hopefully we’ll come out and play a bit sharper. You want to play your best in the playoffs and we’re not quite there yet."
Scott remained unbeaten after edging Calgary’s Shannon Kleibrink 7-6 in an extra end.
Earlier in the day, Nedohin and Belsile both moved one step closer to advancing to the tournament’s playoff round. Nedohin defeated Calgary’s Olympic silver medallist Cheryl Bernard 8-2 while Belisle eased past Toronto’s Julie Hastings 8-1.
2010 World Championship gold medallist Kevin Koe defeated fellow Edmonton skip Ted Appelman 7-6 in an extra end.
Koe, playing in its first game since defeating Norway last Sunday for the World Championship title, overcame a slow start before finding their rhythm in the middle ends. "We were happy to pull (the game) out," said Koe. "We’re just hoping to try and last until the weekend and then I think the intensity will pick up." Randy Ferbey’s Edmonton rink, which is competing in its final tournament as a foursome, dr
Team Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.), who is competing in their final tournament as a foursome, sit at 1-1 following a 5-2 loss to Dale Matchett of Brantford, Ont., and a narrow 8-6 victory over Martin Ferland of Quebec City.
The win over Ferland this evening came following a poor performance in their opening round game against Matchett.
"There was no drive, no jump, no want, no…whatever you want to say. It was a really pathetic effort," said Ferbey following the loss. "We’re not out of it yet, but we’re going to have to play a lot better than that."