Scotland's Bruce Mouat (Photo: Anil Mungal/GSOC) looks to capture third Slam title of the year. By: Cameron Sallaj Currently ranked #1 in the world, Bruce Mouat and his Scottish quartet of Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan Jr. have been the team to beat so far this season. In just five events played, Team Mouat have reached four tour finals and have won three titles, more than any other team this season. They also currently hold a 32-4 win-loss record against their competition, making them the favorites this week in Nisku, Alberta. After opening the event with a narrow 5-4 win over Marco Hosli over Switzerland, Team Mouat bulldozed over Saskatchewan's Rylan Kleiter 8-1 to sit 2-0 in the standings. On day 3, they took on another Saskatchewan rink in Saskatoon's Mike McEwen in a battle of two of the hottest teams on tour. Starting without hammer, Mouat was able to force McEwen to one in the first, giving them back control of the hammer. They then put this to immediate use in the second end by scoring three points for an early lead. In the third, McEwen again was only able to score a single. The Scotts then took advantage of a missed double takeout in the fourth end to put another multi-point end on the board and take a 5-2 lead at the half. Things got better for Mouat's rink in the fifth end when Mike McEwen miscalculated the angle on his double takeout, resulting in two more points for the Scottish side. Team McEwen then got one back in the sixth before concession, 7-3 the final score. WATCH Draw 10: Mouat vs McEwen Now at 3-0, Team Mouat is through to the knockout round for a fifth consecutive time at the Canadian Open. In their last round robin game, the team plays Matt Dunstone (Winnipeg, MB) where they will try to go undefeated. Team McEwen, now 1-2, plays Rylan Kleiter, needing a win to stay alive. Elsewhere, Team Yannick Schwaller (Geneva, SUI) fended off a late surge by Team John Shuster (Duluth, MN), holding on for an 8-7 extra end win. The Swiss now move to 2-1 while Shuster is eliminated at 0-3. Team Brad Jacobs (Calgary, AB) came from behind to keep their winning streak alive, counting two in the eighth end to down Team Marco Hosli (Glarus, SUI). The Jacobs rink is the second team qualified for the playoffs at 3-0 while Hosli slips to 1-2. Finally, Team Matt Dunstone (2-1; Winnipeg, MB) took a deuce in the first and three in the seventh en route to an 8-3 win over Team Rylan Kleiter (0-3; Saskatoon, SK). The Co-op Canadian Open continues Thursday with Draw 11 beginning at 4:00 PM Mountain Time. Games can be streamed on Sportsnet or through the HomeTeamLive app. All game streams are linked to the CurlingZone Scoreboard and accessed by clicking the red play button. |