Vernon’s Jim Cotter is out of the playoffs after falling 7-3 to Coldwater, Ont.’s Glenn Howard at the $100,000 BDO Canadian Curling Open Friday afternoon in Kingston, Ont.
With the game tied 3-3 after six ends, Howard, who finished in a three-way tie atop Pool C at 4-1, cracked back-to-back deuces in the final two ends to secure the win.
Cotter, who plays with third Kevin Folk, second Tyrel Griffith and lead Rick Sawatsky, finished the Pool C round-robin at 2-3. They split their opening two draws before falling 7-6 to Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton (4-1) Thursday night.
Stoughton had built up a 5-2 lead after six ends, but Cotter stormed back with four points in seven to take the lead into the final frame, where the Winnipeg skip iced it with a deuce.
The Cotter rink rebounded Friday by orchestrating an early four-point lead en route a 9-4 win over Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock.
Laycock counted two in the third end, but Cotter put the game away with a four-ender in five.
Mike McEwen’s Winnipeg rink was the only one to go undefeated, finishing at 5-0 in Pool A. He faced Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard in quarterfinal play Saturday. Menard grounded Edmonton’s Kevin Koe 8-3 in a tiebreaker that morning to earn the final playoff spot.
After dropping his opening two games, Edmonton’s Kevin Martin ran the table, ending with an 8-3 win over Edmonton’s Robert Schlender in the final round-robin draw to earn a spot in the quarters. Other matchups pit Howard against Brad Jacobs Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. rink; Rob Fowler of Brandon, Man. against Sweden’s Niklas Edin; and Martin vs. Stoughton.
First place earns $20,000, runners-up pocket $11,000, third and fourth get $6,000 each, and fifth to eighth earn $3,000.
The final goes 10 a.m. (PT) today.
