IQALUIT, Nunavut, November 12…Saskatchewan (Darrell McKee of Saskatoon) rebounded from its first loss of the week by defeating Ontario (Wayne Tuck of Brantford), 8-3 in Wednesday’s evening Draw 13 at the Arniatok Arena, in the 46th edition of the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, presented by First Air.

The victory, aided by a four-ender in the fifth, kept Saskatchewan in first place with an 8-1 record.  However, right behind at 7-1, with a game in hand, is Manitoba (Sean Grassie of Winnipeg), which easily defeated British Columbia (Greg Monkman of New Westminster), 7-1.   

In the other games, Alberta (Tom Appelman of Edmonton) won its second straight, 11-7 over Northern Ontario (Ian Fisher of Sault Ste. Marie), stealing a single in the ninth, then three more in the 10th end for the decision.  The loss dropped Northern Ontario to 6-3, while Alberta improved to 2-6.

Meanwhile, Prince Edward Island (Bill Hope of Charlottetown) kept the Territories (George Lennie of Inuvik) winless with a 9-4 rout.  The Islanders improved to 4-4 while the Territories are 0-8.

Lurking behind the two leaders is Nova Scotia (Mark Dacey of Halifax), with a 6-2 record, while Ontario and Northern Ontario are now knotted for fourth, with 6-3 marks.

Round robin play continues with draws at 10:00 am, 2:30 pm at 7:00 pm on Thursday, with a final draw Friday morning at 10:00 am, after which the first place team will advance directly to the final on Saturday, November 15, while the second and third place teams meet in a semi-final to determine the other finalist.

In addition to a Canadian title, two players from the winning team will also represent Canada at the 2009 World Mixed Doubles Championship, slated for April 17-25, 2009 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Alberta has won a leading nine Mixed titles since 1964.  Saskatchewan is next with eight, while Manitoba has won seven.

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