Saskatchewan’s Jason Ackerman dropped his first game of the Canadian mixed curling championship Thursday, but remained among the frontrunners for a semifinal berth.
After seven straight wins, Ackerman fell 7-3 to Alberta’s Kurt Balderston and was tied atop the standings at 7-1 with Manitoba’s Ryan Wiebe and Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell.
The top four teams Friday night advance to Saturday’s semifinals, which will be followed by the medal games.
Wiebe beat Trent Skanes of Newfoundland and Labrador 8-6 and Purcell downed Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith 11-3.
Balderston and Quebec’s Don Bowser, who lost 6-3 to B.C.’s Cody Tanaka, were both 5-3.
Tanaka was 4-4, and Smith and Skanes both 3-5 in the championship pool of the tournament.