Penetanguishene’s Glenn Howard will take a 2-1 record into day five of the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary Tuesday.
The Howard rink, which is being skipped by Wayne Middaugh with Howard out due to injury, dropped a 5-3 decision to Team Alberta, skipped by Brendan Bottcher on Monday in round robin action.
After blanking the opening two ends, Bottcher got on the board with a single in the third end.
After Team Howard responded with a single in the fourth end, Bottcher took a 3-1 lead with a pair in the fifth end and never trailed again.
Team Howard pulled to within one in the sixth end, but Bottcher would seal the win with a single in the seventh before stealing one more in the eighth end.
A single in the ninth end by Team Howard capped off the scoring.
The Howard rink, which includes Scott Howard at third, David Mathers at second, and lead Tim March, returns to action on Tuesday with a pair of games.
The team will open action in the morning draw against Mike McEwen, one of three wild card teams in the event, at 10:30 a.m. (eastern time).
Team Howard then wraps up action at 8:30 p.m. (eastern time) against Team British Columbia, skipped by Steve Laycock.
In other Pool A games on Monday, Team British Columbia, skipped by Steve Laycock, moved to 1-2 thanks to a 9-3 win over Team Yukon, skipped by Dustin Mikkelsen, in eight ends. The loss drops the Mikkelsen rink to 0-3.
Team Manitoba, skipped by Jason Gunnlaugson, is 3-0 thanks to an 8-5 win over Team Wild Card1, skipped by McEwen. The McEwen rink falls to 2-2.
New Brunswick’s James Grattan moved to 3-1 with a 7-6 extra end win over Team Northern Ontario, skipped by Brad Jacobs. Northern Ontario is now 2-2.
Following Monday’s Pool A results, the top of the standings remain tight with Gunnlaugson remaining as the lone unbeaten team.
- Manitoba (Jason Gunnlaugson): 3-0
- Alberta (Brendan Bottcher): 3-1
- New Brunswick (James Grattan): 3-1
- Wild Card3 (Glenn Howard) 2-1
- Wild Card1 (Mike McEwen): 2-2
- Northern Ontario (Brad Jacobs): 2-2
- British Columbia (Steve Laycock): 1-2
- Northwest Territories (Gregory Skauge): 0-3
- Yukon (Dustin Mikkelsen): 0-4
Teams in Pool B were set to return to the ice on Monday night in the final draw of the day. Kevin Koe’s Wild Card team leads that pool with a 4-0 record.
The top four teams in each pool will move on to the Championship Pool, which is set for Friday and Saturday.
The top three teams will then move on to the playoff round on Sunday, with the top team getting a bye directly into the final on Sunday night.