Muyres and Walker defeat Kleibrink and Kitz 11-3 at mixed doubles curling event

CALGARY — The duo of Kirk Muyres and Laura Walker defeated Kyler Kleibrink and Chaelynn Kitz 11-4 Saturday night at the Home Hardware Canadian mixed doubles curling championship in Calgary.

Muyres and Walker were down 3-0 after two ends, only to rally and tie the match in the third end. They would go on to score eight more points over the next four ends while the Kleibrink-Kitz combo only mustered one more point before the end of the game. 

Kleibrink and Kitz’s record has now fallen to 2-1 while Muyres and Walker remain undefeated at 3-0.

Earlier this evening, Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue broke a deadlock with points in the sixth and seventh ends to defeat Shane Konings and Lauren Wasylkiw 7-5.

The teams were tied at 5-5 after five ends of play. Wasylkiw and Konings took a 3-2 lead before Einarson and Gushue scored three in the fourth end. Wasylkiw and Konings then scored two of their own in the fifth to tie the game.

The Einarson-Gushue duo then scored once in the sixth and added another in the seventh to give them a two-point advantage. 

Einarson and Gushue’s record now improves to 3-1 at the mixed doubles championship, good for third in their pool. Einarson is coming off a second consecutive victory at the national women’s curling championship in Calgary last month.

Marc Kennedy and Val Sweeting defeated Catlin Schneider and Shannon Birchard Saturday afternoon.

The Kennedy-Sweeting duo earned the game-winning point in an extra end to secure their third victory at the championship while remaining undefeated. Schneider and Birchard are now 2-12-1. 

In the morning, defending champions Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman defeated Colton Lott and Kadriana Sahaidak 7-3.

The Peterman-Gallant duo scored three points in the third end and added a deuce in the sixth. 

Both teams were left with 2-1 records in Pool A. Joanne Courtney and Darren Moulding led at 3-0.

The top 12 teams emerging from five pools advance to playoffs on Tuesday. The gold-medal game is set for Thursday. 

The winners earn $50,000 and will represent Canada at the world championship if the World Curling Federation names a date and location for the event.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2021. 

The Canadian Press