Johnston off to poor start at nationals

It wasn’t the start the Cody Johnston rink was looking for in Calgary.

Johnston lost both his opening-day matches at the Canadian junior curling championships on Saturday, falling 11-4 to Alberta in the tournament opener and dropping a 6-2 decision to Saskatchewan in the second draw of the day.

The Albertans, skipped by Colin Hodgson, scored two in the seconds and stole singles in the third and fourth to go up 4-0 before Johnston, lead Michael Makela, second Mark Adams and third Mike Badiuk ever got out of the gate.

Johnston snagged two back in the fifth, but a four ender in the sixth put it out of reach and the two teams shook after Hodgson scored three in the eighth.

It was more of the same in Draw 2.

Braeden Moskowy’s foursome got off to a quick start, scoring two in the first and stealing one in the third to take a 3-0 lead.

After Johnston got one back in the fourth the Saskatchewan rink scored a single in the fourth, stole points in the next two ends and owned a 6-1 lead after six ends.

The Thunder Bay curlers, who finished second under the guidance of Johsnton’s older brother Dylan in 2009, are tied for last spot at the week-long event, will look to rebound on Sunday against Manitoba, their sole match of the day.