Quebec moves atop standings with win over Northern Ontario at mixed curling championship

Felix Asselin's Quebec rink moved atop the championship pool standings with a 6-2 win over Northern Ontario on Thursday at the Canadian mixed curling championship.

Ontario, B.C., Northwest Territories sit just behind Quebec with 5-2 records

Quebec, which is seeking its third straight mixed doubles title, improved to 6-1 with the win over Northern Ontario. (Melanie Johnson/Curling Canada)

Felix Asselin's Quebec rink moved atop the championship pool standings with a 6-2 win over Northern Ontario on Thursday at the Canadian mixed curling championship.

The second draw on Thursday was the first since teams were split into the championship and seeding pools following the conclusion of Wednesday's action.

The top four teams from pool A and pool B moved to the championship pool, carrying over their records. The top four championship pool teams at the end of Friday's play will advance to the Saturday's semifinals.

Quebec, which is seeking its third straight mixed doubles title, improved to 6-1 with the win over Northern Ontario (4-3). Quebec opened with a point in the first end, then posted three straight steals of one to open a 4-0 lead.

Trever Bonot's rink scored one in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-1, but Asselin responded with two in the sixth.

Northern Ontario conceded after managing just one point in the seventh.

Ontario, British Columbia and Northwest Territories sat just behind Quebec at 5-2.

N.W.T. skip Jamie Koe missed a chance to join Asselin at the top of the table after falling 5-4 to Saskatchewan.

Ontario beat New Brunswick 7-3 and B.C. downed Nova Scotia 6-3 to join N.W.T.

Northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia remained in the mix at 4-3.

Earlier in seeding pool play, Manitoba (3-4) posted an 11-1 win over Nunavut (1-6), Newfoundland and Labrador (2-5) earned a 7-2 win over Yukon (2-5) and Prince Edward Island (2-5) edged Alberta (2-5), scoring one in the ninth to win 8-7.

The seeding pool teams played again in Thursday's third draw, while the championship pool teams were in action in the day's final draw.