Down to final four!

Homan/Bottcher, Tran/Kleiter into Page 3-4 game at Mixed Doubles Trials

LIVERPOOL, N.S. — Four teams remain standing at the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials, and the tension level is getting higher at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool, N.S.

Team Rachel Homan/Brendan Bottcher (Beaumont, Alta./Spruce Grove, Alta.) and Team Brittany Tran/Rylan Kleiter (Calgary/Saskatoon) won Page 3-4 qualifying round games on Friday afternoon, and they’ll meet later Friday, at 7 p.m. (all times Atlantic), with the winner moving into Saturday’s 10 a.m. semifinal and the loser eliminated.

Team Homan/Bottcher had the easier time of it, rolling to a 9-6 victory over Team Jaelyn Cotter/Jim Cotter (Vernon, B.C.), while Team Tran/Kleiter needed an extra end to beat Team Jennifer Jones/Brent Laing (Barrie, Ont.) 8-6.

After giving up a steal in the first end, Team Homan/Bottcher rallied immediately in the second. Bottcher made a precise in-off that left his team sitting three, and when Jaelyn Cotter was light on a draw, Homan made the draw for four.

Two ends later, Homan was left with an open hit for another four, and she made no mistake, and the end result was no longer in doubt.

It was a solid bounceback after a loss to Team Jocelyn Peterman/Brett Gallant (Chestermere, Alta.) in Thursday night’s Page 1-2 qualifying round.

“Certainly not the outcome we wanted last night, but I thought the process of what we did was pretty good,” said Bottcher. “I thought we played well (Thursday night); just a couple of small positioning things and in mixed doubles, sometimes that’s what it comes down to. But certainly we weren’t sitting down trying to make any big wholesale changes. We played well this week and we need to keep doing more of that here in the next few games.”

Team Tran/Kleiter, meanwhile, had a slower start, giving up stolen points in the first two ends against Team Jones/Laing.

But they put together a solid third end that was capped by Tran making a draw to bite the button for three.

“I think we still had a good first couple ends, so it was just making sure we were catching on to the ice and getting the right angles and just staying patient out there,” said Tran. “And then we got our three in the third, so it was great.”

“Yeah, absolutely, that’s a momentum-swinging shot,” added Kleiter. “Right to the tee line, get a piece of the button — it was a great shot.”

Team Tran/Kleiter were the lone entry to beat Team Homan/Bottcher in round-robin play, winning 7-6 on Wednesday. What will it take to beat them again? 

“I think the same stuff that we’ve been doing all week,” said Tran. “Just getting those right angles, getting a good handle on the draw weight, and having the good communication that we’ve had if the ice changes at all.”

“I think in mixed doubles, you know, anyone can win on any day and they certainly got the better of us earlier this week,” said Bottcher. “So we’d like another chance to play them. But, again, we’re going to have to play our best.”

The Page 1-2 playoff game Friday evening will feature unbeaten Team Peterman/Gallant taking on Team Lisa Weagle/John Epping (Ottawa/Toronto).

The winner will go straight to Saturday’s 2 p.m. gold-medal game, while the loser will drop to the semifinal to meet the winner of the Page 3-4 game.

The winning team on Saturday will represent Canada at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship April 26-May 3 in Fredericton, N.B.

That event also will decide most of the countries that will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, and if Canada qualifies for the Games, it will be the Trials winner in Liverpool who will wear the Maple Leaf in Italy.

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials are available by CLICKING HERE.

Streaming for the Trials will be available on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel.

Ticket information for the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials is available by CLICKING HERE.

This story will be posted in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/2025mixeddoublestrials/nouvelles/?lang=fr