SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. -- Glenn Howard improved to 5-0 and clinched first place in Pool A with a 7-6 win over Adam Casey in men's action Friday at the Road to the Roar Olympic curling pre-trials.
The four-time Canadian champion from Tiny, Ont., scored two in the 10th end for the comeback win. Casey, the local favourite based in Charlottetown, scored two in the ninth to tale a 6-5 lead but couldn't hang on. His team feel to 2-3.
John Morris of Chestermere, Alta., part of Canada's Olympic champion team in 2010, improved his chances of a playoff spot with an 8-4 win over Winnipeg's Jason Gunnlaugson. Morris took over second place in Pool A at 3-2 while Gunnlaugson fell to 2-3.
Jamie Murphy of Halifax kept his playoff chances with a 6-5 extra-end win over Saskatoon's Colton Flasch. Murphy improved to 3-3 while Flasch fell to 2-3.
In women's action, Keri Einarson of East St. Paul, Man., improved to 4-1 with a win over Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont., while Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, Ont., defeated Jaqueline Harrison of Mississauga, Ont., 8-6.
Einarson leads Pool B, ahead of Middaugh, McCarville and Briane Meilleur at 3-2.
Four teams -- two men's teams and two women's teams -- will qualify for the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings next month in Ottawa.
The top three teams from each pool will advance to the playoffs beginning on Saturday, with the first- and second-place teams crossing over to meet each other in the first round of the A-side. The winners will then meet for the first Roar of the Rings berth.
The first-round losers will drop to meet the third-place teams in each pool in the first round of the B-side. The winners of the two games will then meet, with the winner taking on the A-side final loser for the second berth.
The Road to the Roar is the final qualifying event for teams to reach the Dec. 2-10 Olympic Trials -- where Canada's four-player curling teams for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games will be decided.
