There was an electric feel to the atmosphere at the Mount McIntyre curling facilities Thursday morning.

With six close games ongoing in Draw 7, including two key matches between Nova Scotia and Quebec, and B.C. and Alberta, as well as a battle of the only two undefeated teams, Ontario and Manitoba, the action was fast and furious.

Fans of all teams were waving flags and shouting cheers from the stands, waiting to find out who was in the playoffs and who was out or just how many tiebreakers would be needed after the round-robin had ended. One man in particular drew attention as he sat in the crowd, watching the New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island contest with keen interest.

Olympic gold medallist and world-champion curler Russ Howard arrived in Whitehorse Monday night. Howard is in the capital city as part of a deal with AthletesCAN, to help with awareness for the sport at the youth level.

'I've been downtown every day, doing autograph sessions,' he said. 'I'm also doing a lot of media reports. I'm doing everything I can to sit down with the teams and give them as much help as I can ... strategies and tips.'

Yukon curlers Sarah Koltun, Chelsea Duncan, Linea Eby and Tessa Vibe were thrilled with the chance to learn from one of Canada's most successful curlers.

'It was pretty cool,' said 13-year-old Koltun. 'We got to wear his (Olympic) medal and stuff. He was teaching us how you miss and how not to miss.'

The trip to Whitehorse couldn't have worked out at a better time for Howard, because it also gives him a chance to cheer on his daughter, Ashley, who is the skip for New Brunswick's women's curling team.

While he never curled at the Canada Games himself, Howard knows it's a great experience for his daughter and couldn't be more proud.

'It's unbelievable ... so cool. Any sport is a good learning experience for life. For her to be playing the sport I play is even better.

'It's been great seeing all the curling. There's been some really nice shots.'

Unfortunately, Ashley's rink did not make the playoffs at the Canada Games, after finishing with a record of of 3-2. Ontario and Manitoba, the two teams she lost to, will both advance to the semifinals, with records of 5-0 and 4-1, respectively.

Howard said part of the problem is the poor curling facilities his daughter is forced to train on back home.

'(Ashley) started slow, to be honest,' said Howard. 'My excuse as a proud parent, is the ice is so fast here, we're not used to it. She's trained so hard for this on slower conditions, so it took her two or three games to get used to it.

'Unfortunately, because of that, she's not going to make the playoffs. But (today), they'll play a sudden death game for fifth in the country, which is still pretty darn good.'

While not pleased with his home province's curling facilities, Howard gushed over the facilities in Whitehorse. He said the sight lines for the fans are amazing and the ice is as good as any Brier ice. In fact, he estimated the ice at Mount Mac is 50 per cent better than what he curled on at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino.

'Really, on a scale of one to 10, this is an 11,' he stated.

Most of the credit for that goes to Doug Gee, who has been the ice maker at Mount Mac for years. Ironically, while Howard spoke about how great the Yukon ice is, Gee lay in the hospital, as he prepared for surgery.

Preparing for league curling Wednesday night, Gee was pebbling in the back of the house when he hit the hack and slipped, falling to the ice and shattering his left wrist. Eager to get back to work, and showing his toughness and determination, Gee returned to the curling rink Thursday morning, to help with the preparations for Draw 7.

But as of later that morning, he was back in the hospital getting his wrist pinned.

Perry Savoie, who is performing the shaving and clipping duties in Gee's absence, while Don Duncan takes care of the pebbling, said Gee was in good form when he was at the club Thursday morning and expected to be back to work today, depending on how the operation went.

Since he's right-handed, Gee would still be able to pebble, but the concern would be if he fell again, he could seriously re-injure the wrist.

Savoie said the ice was in really good shape as of Thursday morning, and they will do their best to keep it that way in Gee's absence. He said they're confident.

Meanwhile, the first semifinal in women's curling is set for this afternoon, at 2 p.m. British Columbia will take on Manitoba.

Ontario also clinched a birth in the semis, as the only undefeated team in the round-robin. They'll take on the winner of a tiebreaker between Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. The second semi is at 2 p.m. as well.

The final is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Also at 7 p.m., Team Yukon (1-5) will play its crossover game against the Northwest Territories. Both teams finished sixth in their pools, so will be playing for 11th place.

Yukon coach Gord Moffatt is hoping the rink will have lots of confidence heading into the match against their northern rivals, after an impressive showing against Saskatchewan in their final round-robin game Thursday morning.

While Saskatchewan won the game, 9-6, Moffatt said they put a good scare into the team from the prairies.

'I get this one extra year of experience for them, they'll be on the other side next time,' said Moffatt. 'They played probably as well as they could.

'Overall, I think we're on track. I don't think we played as well as we played in St. Catharines (at the junior nationals), but I think probably some of the extra pressure playing at home has affected them.'

Moffatt also pointed out the fact Team Yukon drew four early morning games in a row, which is tough.

'I think we did good for our ages,' said second Eby.

'We learned a lot,' added Duncan, who is the third but has been throwing skip rocks during the Games.

Skip Koltun said the team won one game at the tournament, against the N.W.T., which was their goal. Now, she said, they'll go for two.

Moffatt said the two teams have a good camaraderie.

'I know the coach very well. Gary and I have been to several nationals together in the past. I look forward to playing them and beating them again,' he smiled.

Three other crossover games will also be played today, including one involving New Brunswick. They'll play the loser of the tiebreaker between Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, which was scheduled to take place this morning.

Sitting rink side to cheer on New Brunswick will be Howard, who plans to fly out to Hamilton Saturday morning for the Brier.

A 13-time participant, Howard will play the role of spectator at the Brier this year, as he cheers on his brother Glenn.

'I'm just a cheerer now,' he laughs. 'I think he's got a wonderful chance. He damn near won it last year.'