By Canadian Press

Kerri Einarson remains undefeated at curling’s Olympic Pre-Trials

Nov 7, 2017 | 6:15 AM

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Kerri Einarson and her rink stole three in both the first and third ends and sailed to a 9-4 victory over Winnipeg’s Darcy Robertson on Tuesday night at the Road to the Roar Pre-Trials.

The win left Einarson, of East St. Paul, Man., as the only unbeaten skip in Pool B in the 14-team women’s competition, while Edmonton’s Kelsey Rocque is the only team with a perfect log (2-0) in Pool A.

“It’s pretty awesome. We’re super-excited to be here, and it’s something we’ve been working towards,” said Einarson. “We’ve been playing well, and tonight was another well-played game. We put some big pressure on them. We’re proud of that performance.”

While Einarson was busy taking care of Robertson (1-2), Rocque’s team was handling its own business on Sheet A, knocking off previously undefeated Theresa Breen of Halifax (2-1) 6-5.

In other women’s games on Tuesday night, Calgary’s Nadine Scotland (1-2) stole the winning point in the 10th end for a 6-5 victory over Tracy Fleury (1-1) of Sudbury, Ont. Shannon Kleibrink of Okotoks, Alta., evened her record at 1-1 with a 7-2 triumph over Winnipeg’s Shannon Birchard (1-2).

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In the only men’s game Tuesday night, Winnipeg’s William Lyburn prevailed in a low-scoring affair, scoring one in the 10th end for a 3-2 win over Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher (0-2).

Earlier in the day, veteran skips Glenn Howard, Jean-Michel Menard and John Morris improved to 2-0 in men’s competition.

Howard, the four-time world champion and four-time Canadian champion from Tiny, Ont., remained perfect with a 6-4 win over Saskatoon’s Colton Flasch (0-2). Howard put the game away with a point in the 10th end.

Morris, from Chestermere, Alta., part of Kevin Martin’s Olympic championship foursome in 2010, posted a 7-2 win over Mark Bice (0-2) of Sarnia, Ont..

Menard, the 2006 Brier champion from Levis, Que., picked up his second win of the day with a 9-5 win over Greg Balsdon’s rink (0-1) from Kingston, Ont..

Edmonton’s Charley Thomas also improved to 2-0, scoring one in the 10th for an 8-7 win over Dayna Deruelle (1-1) of Brampton, Ont.

Meanwhile, Halifax’s Jamie Murphy improved to 1-1 with a 9-5 win over Charlottetown’a Adam Casey (0-1).

Earlier in Draw 4, Breen defeated Kleibrink 7-3 to improve to 2-0 in the women’s competition.

Breen’s Halifax rink, which opened with an 11-6 win over Fleury, stole a single point in the fourth end and stole two more in the fifth en route to the victory over the 2006 Olympic bronze medallist.

“It’s a great start, we’re certainly thrilled with how we’re playing so far,” said Breen. “We’ve certainly built upon what we’ve started this season and we worked hard to be here. It might be a surprise to some, but we’re feeling pretty confident about how well we’re playing.”

In other Draw 4 games, Karla Thompson of Kamloops, B.C., beat Jacqueline Harrison of Mississauga, Ont., 6-5 and Fleury rolled to a 6-1 victory over Birchard.

Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont., dropped a 7-3 decision to Winnipeg’s Briane Meilleur and Julie Tippin of Woodstock, Ont., topped Scotland 7-5.

Round-robin play continues through Friday and the crossover playoffs begin Saturday.

There are 14 teams entered in both the men’s and women’s draws. 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 Roar of the Rings — also known as the Olympic Trials — will determine Canada’s representatives at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly referred to Kerri Einarson as American