![]() Marlee Powers and Luke Saunders (Photo: Curling Canada) are in the mix in Pool D with another win Tuesday morning in Summerside. By: Cameron Sallaj Nova Scotia champions Marlee Powers and Luke Saunders, with coach Colleen Jones, are making a push to qualify at the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. Last year, the duo had a strong 4-1 start to the championship but suffered two losses down the stretch to keep them outside the top 12. This year, the team is again in contention as they look to lead Nova Scotia into the playoff round. In Tuesday mornings Draw 7, Powers/Saunders got off to an ideal start against Emilia Gagne and Pierre-Luc Morissette, stealing one in the opening end. The Quebec rink then got one back in the second to even the score. After converting a deuce in the third, the Nova Scotia champs from Halifax stole three in the fourth end to open up a 6-1 lead. Keeping things close though, Gagne/Morissette scored three of their own in the fifth to get within two. With the scoreline tightening, Marlee and Luke took four in the sixth end to close out the game with a 10-4 victory, improving their record to 3-1 to stay on track in Pool D. It's been a busy season for the Halifax couple who have both been competing in the four-person discipline as well. At the Scotties, Powers earned the bronze medal as a member of the Christina Black rink while Saunders reached the playoffs at the Montana's Brier as third for Owen Purcell. In their opening game, Powers/Saunders won 11-3 over CJ Jackson and Matt McCrady (New Westminster, BC). They then lost 7-3 to Kadriana and Colton Lott (Gimli, MB) but bounced back to defeat Nicole Westlund-Stewart and Tyler Stewart (Thunder Bay, ON) 10-6. With three other teams also in contention in their pool, Powers/Saunders will need a strong finish to ensure qualification. The team will next play Veronique Bouchard and Jean-Francois Charest (Chicoutimi, QC) at 4 pm AT Tuesday before finishing against Jones/Laing and Papley/van Amsterdam on Thursday. With twelve teams advancing to the knockout round, a 4-3 record at minimum will be needed for a chance at qualification. |