Final eight mixed doubles tandems to battle in Round of Eight

Thirty-five curling duos entered the Calgary bubble over a week ago in pursuit of the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship. Now, after 28 round-robin draws and one qualifying round, we have reached the great eight.

The eight remaining tandems will battle in the quarterfinal round Wednesday at 12:30pm et/9:30am pt at Canada Olympic Park. Jennifer Jones-Brent Laing vs. Kerri Einarson-Brad Gushue will be the feature match on TSN1 and streaming on TSN.ca, the TSN App and TSN Direct. 

From there, the final four will play a seeding round later in the day to determine the ranking for the page playoffs which will happen Wednesday evening.

The semi-final and championship games happen on Thursday.

The winning pair will take home $50,000 of the $150,00 purse and will represent Canada at the World Mixed Doubles Championship from May 17-23 in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Let’s take a closer look at the final eight and the quarterfinal matchups.

Laura Walker/Kirk Muyres (6-0) vs. Lisa Weagle/John Epping (5-1)

Laura Walker and Kirk Muyres were the only team in the curling bubble to post a perfect record in the round robin.

They sealed their 6-0 showing and first place in Pool C with a dramatic 7-6 victory over Nancy Martin and Tyrel Griffith in the round robin finale. The win eliminated Martin and Griffith, who were 2019 finalists at this event, from playoff contention.

Walker and Muyres won the Canadian mixed doubles nationals in 2018 and took home bronze in 2019. The 30-year-old Walker, skip for Team Alberta at this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts, knows teams are gunning for them as past champs. 

“I think being a past Canadian champion has a target on our back already,” she said. “I don’t think anything that has happened changes that; teams want to beat teams that have won this thing before. So I feel like the target is there, and there to stay as long as we keep doing what we’re doing. We’ll just take the pressure and use it, instead of having it go the opposite way.”

They’ll take on long-time buddies Lisa Weagle and John Epping, who are coming in on a high after they stole two in an extra end to edge out Val Sweeting and Marc Kennedy in the qualifying round. They posted a solid 5-1 record in Pool E play.

Danielle Schmiemann and John Morris (5-1) vs. Shannon Birchard and Catlin Schneider (4-2)

After dropping their opener to Newfoundland’s Mackenzie Mitchell and Greg Smith last Thursday, Danielle Schmiemann and teammate John Morris have reeled off five straight wins to claim first-place in Pool E.

The Alberta curlers are playing in their first event together. Schmiemann is a replacement for Rachel Homan, who is at home in the late stages of her pregnancy.

Morris, who won the first ever mixed doubles Olympic gold medal in 2018 with Kaitlyn Lawes, believes they could be hitting their stride at the perfect time heading into the playoffs. 

“I knew she was a real strong competitor. She’s got every shot in the bag. She can throw some heat when we need it, and she has that nice finesse,” Morris said Monday. “I feel like our chemistry has been growing every game. We were kind of learning each other out the first few games, but we’re getting better and better. We seem to be gaining some momentum and I really like our chances. I think if we keep this up, I think we have a great chance to win this thing.”

They will take on three-time Canadian champ Shannon Birchard and Catlin Schneider in the quarterfinal. The duo, who play out of Winnipeg and Regina, went 4-2 in pool play and got their spot in the playoffs thanks to their strong draw to the button numbers this week.

Birchard and Schneider defeated Emma Miskew and Ryan Fry, 10-6 in the qualifying round.

Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant (5-1) vs. Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott (5-1)

The two-time Canadian mixed doubles champions haven’t missed a beat in Calgary.

Engaged couple Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant won this event in 2016 and 2019 and look to be a top contender once again.

The Pool A winners will battle Kadriana Sahaidak and Colton Lott, also from Pool A, in the quarters. The Peterman-Gallant duo won their round-robin contest against Sahaidak-Lott, 7-3, earlier this week.

“We’re going to probably going to have to curl 85 or 90 per cent [in the playoffs] and if somebody out-curls us, so be it,” said Gallant on Tuesday. “But, I think if we focus on our own game, play well, set the angles up, we’ll be in a good spot.”

Sahaidak and Lott, who are also a couple, have had their fair share of success at mixed doubles nationals in the past, finishing as a runner up in 2018 and third in 2019.

They defeated Mackenzie Mitchell and Greg Smith of Newfoundland and Labrador, 8-3, in the qualifying round.

Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing (5-1) vs. Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue (5-1)

This quarterfinal matchup might have the most fire power on the ice Thursday afternoon.

Between Jennifer Jones-Brent Laing and Kerri Einarson-Brad Gushue, this game will feature a combined 14 Canadian championships, six world championships and two Olympic gold medals.

Married couple Jones and Laing won their first five games in the round robin before dropping their finale to Wayne and Kim Tuck on Tuesday afternoon.

Einarson and Gushue, who are playing in their first mixed doubles event as teammates, also posted a 5-1 record in Pool B before just getting by Brittany Tran and Aaron Sluchinski in the qualifying round. The pair had an 8-4 advantage through six ends in that game before giving up four in the seventh and barely hanging with draw weight for the single and win in the final end.

Gushue is looking forward to the matchup against the mixed doubles veterans in Jones and Laing, who are competing in their fourth mixed doubles nationals as teammates. 

"I think for an experience stand point they got us destroyed from a mixed doubles [perspective]," said Gushue after Tuesday's win. "They play a lot and they've played together for a long time so certainly I think they're comfort level is much more than ours, but I think from a shot making perspective we can certainly keep up."

Jones and Laing won Pool B after routing Einarson and Gushue, 10-4, in the round robin earlier this week.