Peterson grabs win over Galusha to advance

2021-02-26 -

CALGARY — Beth Peterson of Team Wild Card Three defeated Kerry Galusha of the Northwest Territories 9-8 on Thursday to secure a berth in the championship pool at the Canadian women’s curling championship.

Peterson, who stole singles in the last two ends, improved to 5-3 with the extra-end victory to make the four-team cut in Pool A. Galusha (4-4) was eliminated with the loss.

Alberta’s Laura Walker (5-3) also qualified with an 11-1 victory over Yukon’s Laura Eby.

Ontario’s Rachel Homan beat Canada’s Kerri Einarson 7-4 in a rematch of last year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts final. Both teams, who had already secured championship pool spots, moved to 7-1.

Team Wild Card Two’s Mackenzie Zacharias (3-5) posted a 9-4 win over Northern Ontario’s Krysta Burns (2-6) in the other Pool A afternoon game.

The Pool B picture remained up in the air entering the evening draw at the Markin MacPhail Centre.

Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones and Saskatchewan’s Sherry Anderson picked up victories in the morning draw to create a three-team logjam at 5-2. Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges, who was idle, was also in first place.

Chelsea Carey, skipping Team Wild Card One as a substitute for Tracy Fleury, thumped Newfoundland and Labrador’s Sarah Hill 11-2 to finish the preliminary round at 5-3.

Jones, seeking a record seventh Scotties title, downed New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams 12-3. Anderson needed a point in the final end for an 8-7 win over British Columbia’s Corryn Brown (3-4).

P.E.I.’s Suzanne Birt improved to 4-3 with a come-from-behind 10-8 win over Nunavut’s Lori Eddy.

Nova Scotia’s Jill Brothers missed the cut in Pool A at 3-5, while Eby was winless at 0-8. In Pool B, Adams took a 3-4 record into the late draw. Hill had a 2-5 mark while Eddy was 0-7.

If a tiebreaker is needed to determine who will make the four-team cut in Pool B, it will be played Friday morning.

Records will carry over into the two-day championship round. Each team will play four games against teams that qualified from the other preliminary round pool.

The top three teams will advance to Sunday’s playoffs. The top seed goes straight to the evening final and the secondand third-place teams will meet in an afternoon semifinal.

The Hearts winner will get a berth in the Tim Hortons Curling Trials and earn $100,000 of the $300,000 total purse. The champion will also return to the 2022 Scotties as Team Canada.

If the women’s world championship is rescheduled for this season, the Hearts winner will represent Canada.

The March 5-14 Tim Hortons Brier will be the next event to be held in the spectator-free bubble. The Canada Olympic Park venue will host six bonspiels in all through late April.

This week, Mitsubishi goes all-in on new Outlander, Hyundai refreshes the Kona crossover, GM’s Oshawa tech track is open, Infiniti prices the soon to arrive QX55, and AJAC announces its eight Canadian Car and Utility of the Year finalists.

Mitsubishi has just revealed an all-new Outlander for 2022. The three-row crossover gets more length, more space, and new driver assistance tech as well as a new look in and out that moves the brand to another level. Cabin changes include seats and steering wheel with more adjustment as well as more absolute space, but it’s the materials that are the most eye-catching. Premium finishes including suede and quilted leather pair with a full-width dash that enhances the feeling of space. The aluminum trim is real aluminum, while a fully digital dash is available.

Outside, the styling is much like the Engelberg Tourer concept with an almost brutalist front end without the over-aggression of many modern crossovers as well as sharp lines nose to tail. It’s powered by a 181 hp 2.5-litre four paired with a CVT. Driver assistance features include new traffic sign recognition, as well as a new assisted driving feature that is hands-on but uses lane centering and radar cruise control to slow down for changing speed limits as well as traffic.

Hyundai debuted the refreshed for 2022 Kona including the Electric and a new N Line sports model. The biggest changes are to the styling, with a new wider nose and slightly more conventional headlights, though this is still certainly a standout in the looks department. Standard powertrain is a 147 hp 2.0-litre four with a six-speed auto, while Limited and N Line get a 195 hp 1.6-litre four (20 hp more than last year) with a dual-clutch gearbox. N Line also adds a body kit and some sporting trim inside including on the seats. Kona gets a new 10.3-inch touchscreen and same-sized digital gauge cluster. Changes to the EV model include some styling and the interior revisions, but the powertrain is unchanged.

Infiniti’s QX55 brings a crossover coupe to the company’s lineup, ready to arrive at dealers in April, so now the automaker has priced the stylish new luxury model. From $51,995, the QX55 offers all-wheel drive, 20-inch alloys, wireless Apple CarPlay, and more, including a power moonroof, heated seats, active noise cancellation, and a host of driver assistance features. Every QX55 gets a 268 hp variable compression turbocharged engine and a CVT. Essential ProAsssist adds leather, more cameras, Bose audio, and adaptive cruise for $56,998, while Sensory adds semi-aniline leather ambient lighting, and ProPilot steering assist with intelligent cruise control for $60.998.

General Motors has announced the opening of the CTC McLaughlin Advanced Technology Track, the autonomous and futuretech test site built on the grounds of the Oshawa Assembly Plant. The oval-shaped circuit is designed to be close to GM’s software engineers in Canada to let them get new developments on track sooner. Development work done at the new facility includes work on advanced driver assistance features (like Super Cruise), autonomous vehicle systems, and even infotainment system testing in a controlled environment.

The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada has announced its eight category winners in the 2021 Canadian Car and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. The list includes two repeat winners as well as a host of new winners, narrowed down from more than 250 eligible models. The final award winners will be presented in March.

BEST OF 2021

Best Mid-Size Car in Canada

Mazda3 (repeat winner)

Best Large Car in Canada

Kia K5

Best Mid-Size Premium Car in Canada

Genesis G80

Best Small Utility Vehicle in Canada

Subaru Crosstrek

Best Mid-Size Utility Vehicle in Canada

Nissan Rogue

Best Large Utility Vehicle in Canada