LEDUC, Alta. — Brendan Bottcher needed an extra end to complete a 5-4 victory over Brad Jacobs in round-robin play Friday at the Canada Cup.
Bottcher, from Edmonton, moved into a first-place tie with Toronto’s John Epping at 4-1 after seven draws of play at Sobeys Arena.
Epping defeated Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., 7-2. Calgary’s Kevin Koe was in third place at 3-1 and Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., was fourth at 2-2.
In early women’s games, Tracy Fleury of East St. Paul, Man., beat Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones 7-4 and Calgary’s Chelsea Carey edged Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., 8-7.
Fleury was in first place at 4-1, ahead of Ottawa’s Rachel Homan (3-1) and Carey (3-2). Team Scheidegger of Lethbridge, Alta., skipped this week by Cheryl Bernard, was fourth at 2-2.
Two more draws were scheduled for later in the day. The top three teams in each seven-team pool advance to the playoffs with the finals set for Sunday.