Roar of the Rings: Glenn Howard and Jeff Stoughton teeter on Olympic elimination after Tuesday’s draw

The fourth draw on the men's side of the 'Roar of the Rings' saw a couple of giants take huge hits to their respective records. Both Jeff Stoughton and Kevin Koe, two of the five favoured teams coming into the event, lost their games and Stoughton dropped to the precipice of elimination, while Koe is eliminated outright. The biggest shocker, though, would be the result coming in the game on Sheet D between Kevin Martin, who entered the game at 3-0, and rival Glenn Howard, who was at 1-2 and perhaps fighting for his playoff life.

Through eight ends, Howard had out-curled Martin decisively. For seven ends, he'd alternated forcing Martin to take a single point with the hammer, and getting two points on his own last rock ends. Martin finally forced Howard to take a single in the eighth end, but even with hammer in the ninth, he was still losing 7-4.

But Martin got a stroke of luck. Howard's second, Brent Laing, missed a double takeout opportunity with his second stone, giving Martin a chance to put another stone in the rings. His second, David Nedohin, made both of his shots, and Martin again got an opportunity when Howard missed laying a freeze to Martin's rock on his first stone. Martin was easily able to make a takeout and lay three, without any obvious doubles on the table for Howard.

If Howard had missed his first, his last shot was a disaster, leaving Martin an easy takeout for four points. Though Howard had been in control for the entire game, just like that, Martin had overcome him and scored four in the end, and stole a point in the tenth for good measure for the 9-7 victory.

It's not the first time that Martin was playing from behind on the day, so perhaps his 4-0 record is deceiving. After five ends against Koe earlier in the day, Martin was down 4-1, but eventually clawed back and took two in the tenth end to win 6-5.

Should we be surprised to see Martin 4-0, at the top of the table after four draws? He is the reigning Olympic champion after all, and the other 4-0 team is the Soo Curling Club's Brad Jacobs, who won a Brier and has looked unbeatable this week.

No, what's more intriguing is the teams at the bottom of the table. Team Koe had some winnable games at the front half of the schedule, but he's failed to beat a single opponent and is the only 0-4 team in the round robin. Stoughton, cheered on by his hometown all week, sits at a mediocre 1-3, needing to play airtight from here on out, needing wins against Koe, fellow Manitoba Mike McEwen, and Glenn Howard to give himself a chance.

Both Stoughton and Koe gave up steals of four points in the draw. Koe became the latest in a string of skips to get flummoxed by Jacobs' squad. Sweepers Ryan and E.J. Harnden have looked to be the strongest in the field, and the shots from Jacobs' back end as a result just find their way to difficult spots, and have hit nearly every stone at exactly the right angle. Koe was forced to make a tough angle raise in the eighth end for one to keep himself alive in his game in Tuesday's evening draw, but missed it completely, giving up the steal in the 9-4 loss.

As for Stoughton, well, he missed his draw on his final shot of the ninth, giving up the steal of four to John Morris in a stunning 11-5 defeat. Just as shocking as Stoughton's 1-3 record is Morris' 3-1. Morris divorced from Martin's squad last year and joined with Jim Cotter's Kelowna rink, and despite having little experience as a team, Morris' squad secured a berth in pre-trials and have made the most of the Roar. They're in third position right now, at 3-1.

And then there's Howard. Like Stoughton, this is perhaps his last chance to represent Canada at an Olympic games, and that's what's on the line this week. After the stunning loss to Kevin Martin, he's also at 1-3, teetering on the brink.

There's just one draw tomorrow on the men's side. Howard will need to beat the 2-2 McEwen to stay in the hunt to get at least a tiebreaker spot, but if Morris can stun Jacobs, making the third seed in the tournament at least 4-1, perhaps there won't be enough space for another squad to get back into the race. One thing was known coming in, that this would be an incredibly tight event, and it has lived up to every expectation in that regard.