HALIFAX — Glenn Howard remained in control at the Tim Hortons Brier on Wednesday while the teams chasing the Ontario skip jockeyed for position.

Howard improved to 8-0 with a 9-5 win over Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador in the morning draw.

But Gushue (7-2) rebounded in the afternoon to keep himself in the hunt at the Canadian men’s curling championship, defeating Jeff Stoughton’s Manitoba rink 5-3 in the 13th draw.

“It was a win but I still don’t think we’re playing very well,” said Gushue. “We’ve just got to get the rocks set up a little bit better early. To stay in the game we’ve got to make those.”

He said it was a tough loss against Howard but ending the day with a split still left his rink in good position to advance to the playoffs.

“A couple more wins and we can get into the 1-2 game,” he said.

The top four teams advance to the Page playoffs where the top two rinks square off for a spot in the final. The loser of that game will play the winner of the other playoff between the third- and fourth-place teams in Saturday’s semifinal. The final is slated for Sunday.

Gushue has yet to play Northern Ontario (6-2) and Quebec (5-3), who are both still in contention.

Alberta’s Kevin Koe joined Gushue at 7-2 with a 6-3 win over New Brunswick after beating Quebec 7-6 in the early draw.

“Strange for us the way this week has gone,” said Koe, whose two losses came to Nova Scotia and Quebec, both weaker rinks. “A couple more routine wins. It’s nice on the old nerves.

“But we’ve still got ourselves in a good spot going into the last night (of round-robin play).”

For Stoughton, a two-time Brier winner, the loss to Gushue was a major disappointment.

“We’re not going to be anywhere if we keep playing like that,” said Stoughton, who slipped to 5-3 after the loss. “We’re not putting any rocks in play that have been helping us at all.”

Meanwhile, Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs continued his quiet climb up the standings, dumping Nova Scotia 7-2.

“I think maybe the fans are surprised but we’re not surprised by the way we’re playing,” said Jacobs, who at 24 is the youngest skip at the tournament.

Jacobs said they were feeling virtually no pressure even though Northern Ontario hasn’t hoisted the Brier Tankard since 1985.

“We’ve got a lot to prove and so far I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that,” said Jacobs.

He said they seem to be getting stronger as a unit and credits his three teammates.

“They’re animals,” he said. “They’re phenomenal players and we’re just putting on a performance every game.”

In other afternoon action, B.C. improved to 3-6 with a 10-4 win over the Territories (1-7).

The Canadian Press