SASK LEADS THE WAY AT MIXED 

SASKATCHEWAN LEADING MIXED; MANITOBA, NOVA SCOTIA CLOSE BEHIND 

In golf, they call Saturday “moving day.” In curling, that typically falls on a Thursday.  

When the majority of round robin play is completed and there are just a few more games to play, the wins and losses on Wednesday tend to create a divide between those teams at the top of the table, and those are chasing them. 

The day started by splitting the field into the Championship Pool and the Seeding Pool, with the top eight teams still fighting for the title. 

After a win over P.E.I.’s Tyler Smith on Wednesday afternoon, Saskatchewan’s Jason Ackerman (with Amber Holland, Sam Willis, and Colleen Ackerman) sit alone at the number one spot with a perfect 7-0 record. The six wins from pool play carried over to the Championship round. 

“I wouldn’t say that we’re playing stupendously to stay undefeated,” said Holland, who was a last minute replacement on the team, filling in for Robyn Silvernagle. “We’ve grinded it out, we’ve stayed in every game, and we haven’t gotten down on ourselves at all.” 

As the only undefeated team, Saskatchewan is dangerously close to locking up one of the top four spots, which would qualify them for the semifinals. 

“This is the first event I’ve played with these guys,” said Holland. “Every game for us is just learning how to be a little bit better, because we want to be there at the end of the week, and hopefully by then we’re firing on all four cylinders.” 

Close behind,  Manitoba’s Ryan Wiebe and Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell sit tied for second with only one loss. 

Wiebe defeated British Columbia’s Cody Tanaka on the last rock, after an unfortunate bounce on a Tanaka miss opened the door for the win. 

“Seem like a lot of our games have gone like that,” said Wiebe. “There have been a few nail-biters. B.C. played great, but we just managed to hang in, and took it to the last shot. Sometimes that’s what it takes.” 

Team Manitoba (with Wiebe, Shaela Heyward, Ty Delello, and Jennifer Clarke-Rouire) have Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan left on the schedule.  

“We still have to win a couple more games to make sure we’re up there,” said Wiebe. “We’re having fun out there though, we’re not being too hard on ourselves, and that’s helping us stick around in these close games.” 

Team Nova Scotia (Purcell, Christina Black, Adam McEachern, and Jennifer Baxter) would also like to lock in a top four spot. 

“We’re sticking to a routine that works for us,” said Purcell. “We don’t want to change anything just because it’s the Championship Pool. We’re playing great, so we want to stick with what works.” 

Championship Pool games wrap up on Friday night, after which the top four will move on to semifinal playoffs. The Championship final and a bronze medal game are scheduled for Saturday at 2:30 PM ET. 

All games are being streaming at http://youtube.com/@curlingcanada while scores and schedules can be found at http://curling.ca/scoreboard .