Koe to face Jacobs in Canada Cup men's curling final
Kerri Einarson meets Jennifer Jones in women's championship
Kevin Koe advanced to the Canada Cup of curling men's final by downing Brad Gushue 7-5 in their semifinal match on Saturday in Estevan, Sask.
The Calgary skip will face Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., for the championship on Sunday.
Two uncharacteristic misses by Gushue led to a stunning reversal in the game, turning a 5-1 lead in the sixth end into a victory for Koe. Gushue, of St. John's, N.L., had a chance to put the game away in the eighth end but his draw to the button sailed wide, giving Koe a 5-5 tie.
Koe, third B.J. Neufeld, second Colton Flasch and lead Ben Hebert struggled early, giving up two in the second. Gushue, third Brett Gallant, second Mark Nichols extended their lead by stealing a deuce in the fifth end.
Koe scored two in the seventh, stole two in eight and added singles in the ninth and 10th ends for the win.
Koe lost 8-4 to Jacobs in the opening round of the tournament.
Einarson to meet Jones in final
Earlier Saturday, Kerri Einarson's rink from Gimli, Man., advanced to the women's final with a 7-3 win over Calgary's Chelsea Carey.
Einarson's rink will take on Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones, who defeated Ottawa's Rachel Homan 8-4 in Saturday's semifinal.
"This game was pretty big for us," said Einarson, whose team has won four World Curling Tour events this season and leads all Canadian teams with a 48-13 win-loss record this season, including a 6-1 record at the Canada Cup. "It's nice to have that time off. We need that rest. It's a long week, that's for sure."
Jones lost her round-robin finale, 7-5 to Edmonton's Laura Walker (3-4), while Homan prevailed 5-4 over Winnipeg's Alli Flaxey (2-5).
In the other women's game on Saturday, Casey Scheidegger (4-3; Lethbridge, Alta.) shaded Winnipeg's Darcy Robertson (1-6) 8-7.