Recap

Kaitlyn Lawes, John Morris ease into mixed doubles curling trials final

Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris led from start to finish as they beat Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman 7-3 to advance to the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials final.

Will play Gushue/Sweeting with Olympic berth at stake

John Morris, pictured at a December event, along with partner Kaitlyn Lawes, beat Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman 7-3 on Saturday to advance to the mixed doubles curling trials final. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris led from start to finish as they beat Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman 7-3 to advance to the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials final.

Lawes and Morris will meet Brad Gushue and Val Sweeting with a spot at February's Olympics in Pyeongchang on the line.

Match Wrap: Lawes and Morris move on to Mixed Curling finals

7 years ago
Duration 1:34
Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris defeated Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant 7-3, moving within a win of a Winter Olympics berth.

"It would be a dream come true," Lawes said. "We're focused on trying to make our shots and hopefully we have that hammer coming home in the last end. I think it's going to be a great game tomorrow."

"We're not looking anything past Brad and Val tomorrow. They're formidable opponents and we're just going to do what we can to prepare for tomorrow," said Morris.

The duo scored a double in the first end of Saturday night's match and never looked back, opening up a 6-2 lead by the fifth end.

Tomorrow's final will be a rematch of a match earlier Saturday, won by Gushue and Sweeting with ease.

Gushue, Sweeting reach final

Brad Gushue and Val Sweeting continued their strong play at the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials on Saturday, defeating Morris and Lawes in the Page 1-2 playoff for a spot in the finals.

Gushue and Sweeting used a 4-point end in the fifth to take full control, before winning 9-4 in seven ends.

Match Wrap: Val Sweeting, Brad Gushue 1 win away from Olympics

7 years ago
Duration 1:36
Val Sweeting and Brad Gushue beat Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris 9-4 to advance to Sunday's final at the 2018 Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials

Peterman, Gallant move on to semis

Peterman and Gallant avoided a major meltdown on Saturday, pulling out a victory over Jennifer Jones and Mark Nichols in the Page 3-4 playoff. 

Peterman and Gallant opened up a 4-0 lead through three ends in Portage la Prairie, Man., before a few costly mistakes allowed the veteran team of Jones and Nichols to tie the match 4-4 heading into the eighth and final end. 

With a crowded house heading into the final rock, Peterman placed it perfectly with a tap to give her team a 5-4 win, advancing to the semifinal.

"I don't really get nerves like that playing second," said Peterman, of her final shot for the win. "It wasn't too bad. I kind of joked that I had been throwing that weight all game on my last shot so it was nice."

Peterman and Gallant reached the 3-4 game earlier in the day with an 8-5 victory over Jill Officer and Reid Carruthers. Jones andNichols beat Chelsea Carey and Colin Hodgson 8-7 in an extra end in the other morning elimination game at Stride Place.

Jones and Nichols — who have both won Olympic gold for Canada in four-player events — were eliminated with the loss.

"Obviously we're hugely disappointed," Jones said. "We came here to win, but I'm proud of how we played. Mark is a great teammate and I had a lot of fun."

The winners of the entire event will be crowned on Sunday, and will represent Canada at the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February.

Every draw of the trials will be live streamed on CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports app. In addition, coverage of the final two days of the event, including the playoffs and final, will be available on CBC TV as part of the Road to the Olympic Games broadcast Saturday and Sunday. 

Click here for a full schedule.

With files from The Canadian Press