Peterman/Gallant accelerating towards playoff berth at Canad Inns Mixed Doubles Trials

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, MAN. — Jocelyn Peterman (Calgary) and Brett Gallant (St. John’s) will enter the final day of the round robin at the 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials as the only undefeated team in their pool. They’ll control their own playoff destiny heading into their final three games on Thursday after defeating Dawn and Mike McEwen (Winnipeg) 12-3 on Wednesday night at Stride Place. Peterman and Gallant took advantage of McEwen misses during Draw 11 action at Stride Place. The McEwens controlled the first end and had a chance to sit three on Dawn’s final shot. However, her rock overcurled on a runback attempt, leaving Peterman and Gallant with an open hit for two. “A few times we had them playing towards the inside of the sheet where the pebble is a little bit fresh. It’s tricky on the inside because you don’t get a lot of play in there,” Gallant said. “So to play a touch shot in the middle early in the game can be a little tricky. We got a break in the first end to get two and then we played a few really good ends after that.” Rocks were crammed into the four-foot like sardines in the second end. Peterman and Gallant sat one in the midst of it, and Dawn opted to throw the rock away instead of risking giving up more. The McEwens picked up two points in the third end, which gave Peterman and Gallant the hammer and control of the game. Peterman and Gallant took advantage of a pair of misses from Mike and placed four rocks into the four-foot with surgeon-like precision. Peterman dealt the final blow with a draw to the four-foot for a score of five and 8-2 lead. Peterman and Gallant tacked on two more points in the fifth end. The McEwens scored one in the sixth and conceded in the seventh after giving up two more. Peterman and Gallant have established resumes in both the four-player game and mixed doubles format. In addition to being the 2016 national mixed doubles champions, Peterman won the 2016 Scotties Tournament playing second for Chelsea Carey and Gallant is the defending Tim Hortons Brier and world champion as Brad Gushue’s second. At 5-0 they are the only undefeated team in Pool A at the 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials and have their sights set on an upcoming playoff appearance. “We’re pretty comfortable with the ice and just making a lot of nice shots. It seems easy right now because we have the ice figured out I think, but it could change at any time so you just got to stay focused,” Gallant said. It wasn’t the only blowout game during the draw. Jill Officer and Reid Carruthers (4-1) defeated Kim and Wayne Tuck (0-5) 15-2. Officer and Carruthers opened with a score of five and a steal of four in the second end. In other draw action, Emilie and Robert Desjardins (3-2) picked up a 6-5 win against Shannon Birchard and Jason Gunnlaugson (1-5). Jennifer Jones and Mark Nichols (4-1) needed an extra end to pick up a 5-4 victory against Nancy Martin and Catlin Schneider (3-3). During the 4:15 p.m. draw Dana Ferguson and Brendan Bottcher (5-0) beat Marliese Kasner and Dustin Kalthoff (0-5) 8-1 in six ends. Kalynn Park and Charley Thomas (3-2) defeated Sherry Middaugh and John Epping (1-5) 8-7. Laura Crocker and Geoff Walker (5-0) maintained their perfect record after besting Chelsea Carey and Colin Hodsgon (2-2) 9-5. Val Sweeting and Brad Gushue (2-2) won back-to-back games after a 6-3 win against Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris (2-2). The 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials continue with a final draw on Wednesday at 9:45 p.m. (CST), with draws Thursday at 8 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:15 p.m, 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/ CBC Sports is providing streaming coverage of the 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials round-robin draw, with playoff games being broadcast on CBC Sports TV. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule. For ticket information for the 2018 Canad Inns Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials, CLICK HERE. This story will be posted in French as soon as possible at https://www.curling.ca/?lang=fr