Casey Scheidegger steals win from Rachel Homan at Players’ Championship

TORONTO – Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge, Alta., broke a tie game, stealing three consecutive ends for a 7-2 victory over Ottawa’s Rachel Homan on Thursday in Draw 9 of round-robin play at the Players’ Championship, a stop on the Grand Slam of Curling circuit.

Both Scheidegger and Homan hold 2-1 records and are tied for second in Pool A behind Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni (4-0), who became the first to four wins with a 7-3 victory over Allison Flaxey (1-3) of Caledon, Ont.

On the men’s side, Brad Gushue’s winning streak ended after Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen beat the world champion from St. John’s, N.L., 6-4. Gushue and McEwen have 3-1 records and are tied for first in Pool A.

John Morris of Vernon, B.C., earned his first win of the tournament after downing Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher 8-5. Morris and Bottcher are both at 1-3 in Pool A and still need victories in their final round-robin games Friday to stay in playoff contention.

Morris is also chasing down Steve Laycock for the final direct Olympic Trials spot based on points.

Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers climbed to a 2-2 record after a 9-1 rout of Calgary’s Kevin Koe (2-2).