NEWS RELEASE

 

Martin, Burtnyk and Stoughton Set the Pace at the BDO Classic Canadian Open

Howard, Gushue, Koe and McEwen all in contention at the men’s third 2008-09 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event

WINNIPEG, January 22, 2009 – Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.), Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.) and Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.) all sit atop of the leaderboard with perfect 3-0 records following the first five draws of the BDO Classic Canadian Open, the third leg of the men’s 2008-09 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

 

Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.), Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.), Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) and Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) are all in contention with records of 2-1.

 

Martin, aiming for his third consecutive BDO Classic Canadian Open title, remained unbeaten at the tournament after posting a 7-3 victory over Gushue.

 

Tied at 1-1 after two ends, Martin fell behind for the first time in the tournament in the third frame after his draw to the button came up heavy, resulting in a one-point steal for Gushue.  Despite the miscue, Martin quickly bounced back in the fourth end.  Taking advantage of some missed shots from Gushue’s team, Martin tapped out his opponent’s rock on his final shot to score five points for an insurmountable 6-2 advantage.

 

“Brad made a really nice shot on his last (throw in the fourth),” said Martin.  “He fully buried in the back four, but the ice is so good here you can tap.  Even if he buries fully you can always get by.  It’s a tough shot, but it’s doable.  We got the big five and that opened the game right up.”

 

Earlier in the day, Martin defeated Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud (Oslo, Norway) 7-2.

 

Burtnyk soared to the top of the leaderboard after earning wins over Wayne Middaugh (Midland, Ont.) and American Pete Fenson (Bemidji, Minnesota).

 

Burtnyk’s afternoon win over Middaugh was decided on the game’s final shot.  Tied at 5-5 in the eighth end, Burtnyk executed a perfect nose hit to move Middaugh’s stone off the button for a one-point victory.

 

Later in the evening, Burtnyk picked up his third consecutive win by powering past Fenson 6-1. 

 

“We’ve made some key shots this week and we’ve also gotten a couple of breaks when we could really use them,” said Burtnyk.  “That tends to happen when you’re playing pretty good.  I’m hoping we’re gaining some momentum here.  We’ve got three wins so we’re in good shape, but we’ve got a big day tomorrow. “

 

Stoughton improved to 3-0 with after earning a hard fought 7-6 extra end decision over Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta).  Trailing 4-3, Stoughton reclaimed the lead in seventh end after executing a delicate tap back for three points.  After Ferbey forced an extra end by picking up a pair of points in the eighth, Stoughton put the game away in the overtime session with an open draw to the button.

 

“It felt good when I let go and the guys swept it to the right spot,” said Stoughton following the game winning shot.

 

Earlier in the day, Stoughton took advantage of a series of Pat Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) miscues to score three points in both the second and fourth ends en route to an 8-5 decision.

 

For a complete overview of this evening’s results, click here.

For a complete overview of the BDO Classic Canadian Open standings following Draw 5, click here.

 

Featuring a total of 18 rinks, Friday’s draw times for the BDO Classic Canadian Open are set for 10:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. CST respectively.

 

The top eight teams following the conclusion of round robin play qualify for the tournament’s quarterfinals on Saturday, January 24 at 2:00 p.m. CST.

 

The BDO Classic Canadian Open features a total purse of $100,000.  The tournament’s winning team will receive a maximum of $25,000.

 

Held annually since 2001-02, the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is a series of eight premier men’s and women’s events that boast Canada’s deepest and strongest curling fields. 

 

The Capital One Grand Slam of Curling is one of a select few events that are tied to the Canadian Curling Association's qualifying process for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Through their performance in the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events, rinks can earn points towards securing a berth at the 2009 Canadian Trials.

 

About BDO

BDO Dunwoody LLP is Canada's sixth largest accounting services and advisory firm. Our team serves a highly diverse clientele, which includes owner-managed businesses, large enterprises, mid-market public companies, community organizations, not-for-profit agencies, and professional firms. From agriculture to real estate, technology to union pensions, and aboriginal communities to municipalities, the professionals at BDO Dunwoody have the expertise to handle any business sector.

 

BDO Dunwoody LLP is a Member Firm of BDO International. BDO International is a global network of public accounting firms, called BDO Member Firms, serving international clients. The network is comprised of 95 Member Firms in 107 countries, with over 30,000 professionals on staff in over 600 offices worldwide to take on a multitude of services. For more information visit www.bdo.ca.

 

About Capital One

Located in Toronto, Ontario, Capital One has offered Canadian consumers a range of competitive MasterCard® credit cards since 1996, when the company first introduced the Platinum MasterCard® in Canada.  Capital One Canada is a division of Capital One Bank, a subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation of McLean, Virginia (NYSE: COF).

 

About Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba

Since its establishment in 1971, the Children's Hospital Foundation has been working to meet the unique pediatric medical and research needs of children. Funds raised through the BDO Canadian Open will help the Foundation fund specialized equipment and programs at the Children’s Hospital and pediatric research at its research division, the Manitoba Institute of Child Health. Each year, 130,000 kids are treated at Children's Hospital and the Foundation strives to ensure that each of them receives the very best medical care possible….because children need us.

 

About Insight Sports Ltd.

Insight Sports Ltd. is a leading North American sports media and entertainment company which owns, creates, aggregates and distributes sports and entertainment content across multiple platforms, including broadcast television, events, on-line, mobile, in-arena and video on-demand. Among its event assets, Insight Sports owns and operates the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling (www.worldcurlingtour.com), a series of eight high-profile men’s and women’s events that feature Canada’s deepest and strongest curling fields.

 

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