After finishing the round-robin with four straight wins, Rylan Kleiter and Brittany Tran face elimination at the Canadian mixed doubles Olympic curling trials in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.
Kleiter-Tran, who finished first in Pool A, opened the playoffs Thursday evening against Lisa Weagle and John Epping, who were second in Pool B, in the Page 1-2 qualifying round. Kleiter-Tran started strong as Tran made a brilliant long raise double takeout for three in the second end, but Weagle-Epping replied right away with a three of their own in the third. Then Weagle made a precise draw to bite the button in the fifth for a pair to break a 4-4 tie and propel the Ontario duo to a 10-5 victory.
Kleiter-Tran will be back on the ice Friday afternoon when they will face Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing in a win-or-go-home, Paige 3-4 playoff.
In the other Page 1-2 qualifying round game, Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant stretched their win streak to eight with an 8-4 win over Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher.
