Jennifer Jones and her St. Vital rink lost their opening game at the Grand Slam of Curling Canadian Open in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
In an all Manitoba showdown on Wednesday morning, Winnipeg’s Briane Meilleur handed the Olympic champions a 5-4 defeat in an extra end. Meilleur stole a single point in the ninth end to open the event with a victory. Neither team managed to score multiple points as a single point was scored in each and every end.
The Jones foursome now drops down to the B-Event where they’ll face their old provincial rival on Thursday in Chelsea Carey.
Carey was sent to the B-Side by Michelle Englot’s Winnipeg team. Englot knocked off Carey 5-4 and a three ender in the fifth end was the difference for Englot.
After losing their opening game on Tuesday the defending provincial champion Kerri Einarson rink bounced back with a 5-2 victory over Ontario’s Tracy Fleury in draw four. Einarson stole a single point in both the seventh and eighth ends to secure the win.
In the men’s draw Mike McEwen started the event off with a 5-3 win over B.C.’s John Morris while Reid Carruthers defeated Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock 8-3 to stay in the B-Event after losing their first game on Tuesday.
RELATED: Kerri Einarson wins first grand slam, Reid Carruthers settles for second place at The National
Meanwhile Braden Calvert kept rolling at the Junior Men’s Provincial Curling Championship being played in Winnipeg. The top seed and two-time Canadian junior champion defeated Fort Rouge’s Brett Walter 7-1 on Wednesday. Calvert’s rink out of the Granite Curling Club sits atop their group with an unbeaten 5-0 record. The Pembina Curling Club’s Jordan Smith, Fort Rouge’s Hayden Forrester and J.T. Ryan out of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club also sport perfect records.
WATCH: Highlights – Calvert vs Walter
In the Junior Women’s Provincial Championship only two teams remain unbeaten. Altona’s Mackenzie Zacharias and East St. Paul’s Kristy Watling are both at 5-0 entering the 4:00pm draw.
The finals will be played on Friday at the St. Vital Curling Club.