World team leads early at 2013 Continental Cup curling competition

PENTICTON, B.C. - The World team retained a two-point lead at the 2013 World Financial Group Continental Cup curling competition after splitting the points with North America in Thursday's second draw.

Each team earned a win and a tie in the afternoon's three mixed doubles games, giving World a 4-2 lead heading into Thrusday's evening draw.

The Canadian team of John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes led the charge for North America with an emphatic 10-3 victory over the Swedish pairing of Niklas Edin and Christina Bertrup.

"Team World had a good start this morning, so we were feeling the heat to get North America back in it," Morris said. "Mixed doubles is a lot of fun, and we knew that we had a good shot at it against some good Swedes."

Two other mixed doubles games came down to the last rock.

Canada's Heather Nedohin, teaming with American Dean Gemmell, made a draw the button to salvage a 5-5 tie with the Scottish pairing of Eve Muirhead and Michael Goodfellow as both teams earned a half-point.

"Every game you go out there as a team you want to gain points." said Nedohin after the clutch shot. "We've been told, and it's obvious, that half-points are great, too. So a tie is good.

"Every point, every half-point is important."

In the other game, American skip Allison Pottinger missed on a draw to the four-foot ring for the victory, giving a steal of two and an 8-7 win to Norway's Christoffer Svae and Switzerland's Carmen Schafer.

"It was a really tight, close game," said Schafer. "It could have gone both ways but we were lucky in the end."

In women's action earlier Scotland's Eve Muirhead cruised to an 8-3 rout of Edmonton's Heather Nedohin, while Switzerland's Mirjam Ott outlasted American Allison Pottinger 9-7.

It was almost a clean sweep for the World team, but Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones salvaged a half-point for North America in a 6-6 draw with Sweden's Margaretha Sigfridsson.

Jones, making her season debut after giving birth to a daughter and recovering from knee surgery, scored two points in the eighth and final end to pull out the tie.

"It felt great," Jones said. "I've been practising and it's been going really well, but to be in competition feels awesome, and to have a shot for the win and get the adrenalin going is a great way to start the week for me."

The first team to reach 30.5 points wins the Ryder Cup-style event.

"That's what we came out here to do this morning – get some points on the board," Muirhead said. "We got off to a really strong start, getting the three in the first end.

"Really, from then, especially when it is only eight-end games, that’s a big lead. We managed to hit them out the park and force ones when we could, so a good, solid start."

Competition continues Thursday with men's team competition in draw 3.

The winning side receives $52,000 ($2,000 per member, including captain and coach), while the losing side gets $26,000 ($1,000 per member, including captain and coach). As well, the side that generates the highest point total in Sunday's six skins games will receive an additional $13,000.

Each side has won four Continental Cups. The World team prevailed last year in Langley, B.C.