Howard clinches early place in playo s
Canadian skip retains perfect record
Basel, Switzerland – Canadian skip Glenn Howard clinched a berth in the Page 1-2 playo game on Wednesday after upping his record to 9-0 at the WCF world curling championship.
Howard, of Coldwater, Ont., beat two of the medal contenders on Wednesday, first dispatching Nicklas Edin of Sweden 10-6 in the afternoon draw and then defeating Tom Brewster of Scotland 7-5 at night.
With one day of round-robin action still to go, Howard has already locked up first place in the standings.
He’s three games ahead of second-place China, Norway and Scotland — all 6-3 — with two games left for each team.
“That’s goal No. 2 achieved,” Howard said after beating Scotland. “No. 1, make the playo s, and No. 2, make the 1-2 game.”
With the game against Brewster tied at five in the 10th, Howard executed a raise double with his last stone to score the winning two points.
It was the only deuce Howard scored in the game, but he was able to keep pace with Brewster by stealing single points in the fourth and seventh ends.
Sweden had won its first five games at the worlds before hitting the skids on Tuesday. The loss to Howard was the team’s fourth in a row and dropped it into a tie for fifth with Denmark and New Zealand at 5-4.
A three-spot by Howard in the seventh end put Canada over the top against the Swedes, who had Edin back in the lineup after missing the rink’s previous four days of action with a back injury
Howard and his rink of Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing and Craig Savill will conclude the round robin on Thursday with games against New Zealand and China.
The Canadian will have Friday o and will play in Saturday’s Page 1-2 game. The final is Sunday.