LEDUC, Alta. — Calgary's Kevin Koe edged Edmonton's Brendan Bottcher 5-3 on Thursday night to create a three-way tie for first place at the Canada Cup heading into the final day of round-robin play.

Koe, Bottcher and Toronto's John Epping all top the men's leaderboard at 3-1.

"It was a grind early," said Koe, whose team includes third B.J. Neufeld, second Colton Flasch, lead Ben Hebert and coach John Dunn.

"They had us in heat in the early ends. Seven, eight, nine, 10, we played four perfect ends. It felt like we were struggling to get any points against them."

Epping defeated Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., 9-4 while Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L. topped Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., 4-3 in other late-draw action on the men's side of the tournament.

On the women's side, Tracy Fleury of East St. Paul, Man., stayed atop the leaderboard with an 8-3 win over Gimli, Man., skip Kerri Einarson while Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones beat Chelsea Carey of Calgary 10-7.

Fleury's win moved her team to 3-1 and a first-place tie with Ottawa's Rachel Homan.

"It feels great," said Fleury, whose three wins matched her career wins total from previous editions of the Canada Cup. "We have a good handle on the ice and we've been fairly consistent game to game. It's so tough that even if you're a little bit off, you can lose a game. You've got to be sharp and focus on every shot."

The finals are set for Sunday. The champions will earn berths at the 2021 Olympic Trials in Saskatoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2019.