Martin, Howard and Koe qualify for quarter-finals at World Cup of Curling

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Several teams were still in the hunt for a playoff berth at the Grey Power World Cup of Curling on Friday with just one round robin draw remaining.
Edmonton's Kevin Martin, Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., and Kevin Koe, also of Edmonton, are the lone squads to secure a quarter-final berth through the tournament's first seven draws.
Howard defeated American John Shuster 6-5 in an extra end and slid past Switzerland's Ralph Stoeckli 8-5 to complete the preliminary round with a perfect 6-0 mark.
Earlier, Martin edged Koe 9-5 to improve to 5-0. The loss dropped Koe to third place with a mark of 4-1.
The turning point in the game came in the fourth end. After Koe drew around a cluster of stones to score three points in the third frame for a 3-1 advantage, Martin answered right back in the fourth end with a three-point draw to the button to reclaim the lead.
"I think we made every shot that end," said Martin. "Eight for eight and got a three right back. That shows a lot."
Martin outscored Koe 5-2 over the game's final three ends to secure the victory.
Norway's Thomas Ulsrud, Denmark's Ulrick Schmidt and Sweden's Niklas Edin sit tied for fourth place with a record of 3-2 while Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., and Germany's Andy Kapp are at 3-3.
Edmonton's Randy Ferbey sits at 2-3 and faced off against Martin later Friday in both rink's final preliminary round game.
Among the notable teams that have been eliminated from quarter-final contention include reigning world championship gold medallist David Murdoch of Scotland, who remains winless through five games, and China's Fengchun Wang, who is 1-4.
Earlier Friday, Koe's rink secured a berth in the tournament's playoff round after defeating Wang 6-4 to earn his fourth straight victory to open the event.
"You just want to make the playoffs and then go from there," said Koe following his game with Wang. "You're going to be playing someone tough in there anyways. It's been a good week so far so hopefully we keep it going."
Gushue rebounded from an 0-2 start to finish the round robin at 3-3 and remain in the hunt for a playoff berth following a 6-4 victory over Murdoch and a 9-4 win over Schmidt.