Manitoba's Matt Dunstone delivers a rock against Wild Card 1 in playoff action at the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier in London, Ont. on Friday March 10, 2023. Dunstone defeated Brendan Bottcher 7-1 in a battle of Canadian skips on Thursday morning at the Grand Slam's HearingLife Tour Challenge.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. – Italian skip Joel Retornaz remained undefeated at the Grand Slam’s HearingLife Tour Challenge with an 8-2 dismantling of defending Olympic champion Niklas Edin on Thursday.
Retornaz opened strong with four points in the first end, and a steal of two in the fourth gave his team an 8-1 lead.
Edin’s Swedish foursome only managed to get one back in the fifth before conceding and seeing its record drop to 1-2.
Retornaz was tied atop the men’s standings at 3-0 along with Ross Whyte of Stirling, Ont., who scored two in an extra ninth end in an 8-6 win over Japan’s Riku Yanagisawa.
In other Draw 11 results, reigning world champion Bruce Mouat of Scotland dropped to 0-3 with a 5-4 loss in nine ends to Calgary’s Kevin Koe (2-1). And Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers scored three in the seventh end in a 7-3 win over American John Shuster. Both teams were at 1-2.
In Thursday’s early men’s draw, Matt Dunstone defeated Brendan Bottcher 7-1 in a battle of Canadian skips.
Dunstone, from Kamloops, B.C., scored three points in the fourth end and added three more in the sixth for the victory.
Bottcher, from Spruce Grove, Alta., threw a game-low 75 per cent. His team recently moved into top spot in the men’s world rankings.
In other early games, Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., dropped a 6-5 decision to Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller in an extra end.
Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell edged Wouter Gosgens of the Netherlands 7-6 and Aaron Sluchinski, of Airdrie, Alta., topped American Korey Dropkin 5-4.
Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes was the lone Canadian skip in action in Draw 10. Her team scored a deuce in the seventh end in a 6-3 win over American Tabitha Peterson.
South Korea’s Eun Ji Gim beat Sweden’s Isabella Wrana 8-3 and Norway’s Marianne Roervik edged Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison 7-6. Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni topped Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa 4-2.
A final women’s draw was scheduled for later in the day at the Gale Centre. Play continues through Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.
