It was a showdown between first and second place in the late draw at the Canadian mixed curling championship in Whitehorse Tuesday.

Quebec was looking to extend an 18-game winning streak which dated back to last season and remain undefeated at the championship, but Manitoba's David Hamblin had a different idea, picking up four points in the ninth end to down Dwayne Fowler 8-5.

'It was by no means a stellar game, but it was a win nonetheless and we'll take it,' said Hamblin, who had last rock advantage. 'We got a couple of great shots, a great roll by Ross (Derksen) and an great freeze by Kristen (Williamson). (Fowler) went for an all or nothing shot at the end and just missed it.'

Fowler admitted he took a gamble with his last shot in the ninth end, but said Quebec basically had their backs to the wall.

'At that point, I just said, Hey, let's go for it.' If I had made that shot, it would have been a different story.'

A loss had to come at some point for Quebec, Fowler pointed out, but he would have preferred it wasn't against Manitoba in Draw 7.

'Sometimes, it's good to get that one out of the way, but we would have liked to win this game in particular because we would have really given ourselves a comfortable position.'

If Quebec had won, they would have been three games in front of Manitoba, but with the loss they now sit at 6-1 while Manitoba is close behind at 5-2. With four games remaining, Quebec may have a bit of an advantage on the schedule, facing Saskatchewan and P.E.I. Wednesday, while Manitoba will take on Newfoundland and B.C.

'Destiny is still in our hands, at this point everybody is chasing us,' said Fowler. 'Now we'll just have to think about starting a new streak. It will be interesting to see how we bounce back. I have full confidence we'll be back tomorrow playing like we have all week.'

The playoff picture is still somewhat muddled after second place, with N.W.T./Yukon, Ontario and Nova Scotia all tied next at 4-3.

N.W.T./Yukon skip Jamie Koe dominated Alberta 8-2 in Draw 7 after losing a close battle to Nova Scotia's Brian Rafuse 10-7 earlier in the day. Rafuse then dropped a 7-6 decision to Northern Ontario in the tenth end. Ontario's John Epping claimed a 9-2 victory over Saskatchewan after edging Manitoba 7-6 Tuesday.

Other results from the late draw were: P.E.I. 6, New Brunswick 4; and B.C. 10, Newfoundland and Labrador 6.

B.C., Alberta, Northern Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick all sport a record of 3-4. Saskatchewan and P.E.I. sit last at 2-5.

Draw 9 on Wednesday will feature a key game between Koe and Epping, with both the N.W.T./Yukon and Ontario looking to pull away from the middle of the pack. The time for that matchup is 5 p.m.

There are just four draws left until semifinals get underway Friday. The championship final for the 43rd annual Canadian mixed is set for Saturday.

'Things are going great so far,' said Derek Charlton, chairman of the 2006 Canadian mixed. 'There's always little minor glitches at the beginning of every event, particularly when it's a national event. It's been a little interesting at times, but I think it's going great.

'The curlers that I've talked to are having a great time.'

Many of the curlers from out of town have been very impressed with the quality of the ice surface at the Whitehorse Curling Club some going as far as to call it 'spectacular'. For those who have been involved in curling locally for years, like Charlton, it's really no surprise.

'Doug (Gee, the head ice-maker at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre) has always held himself to a very high standard. Now it's just great to see people from across the country realize how good he is at his job.'

Good ice makes for great action and Charlton, who was at the Brier in Edmonton last year, said some of the games this week have been in line with the action at the men's championship.

'It's been exceptional. The game yesterday afternoon between Manitoba and Ontario, two of the younger teams, it was amazing. Some of the shots these kids were making...'

Thanks to a program implemented with Whitehorse schools for the championship, where each school had adopted a province to learn about and cheer on, a lot of students have been able to take in those incredible shots, which is important for the future of curling in Canada.

'When I was growing up, I always though curling was an old man's sport,' admitted Charlton. 'It's been a little noisy, but it's been great to see the kids come out and get that excited about curling.

'Each time you bring a new school in, they seem to think it's like the Can-Can dancers the louder you scream, the better they curl,' he laughed. 'But I think about halfway through the game, they start to understand when they should be cheering and when to stay quiet.'

There may be a lot of screaming going on tonight at Mount Mac, as 22 people 10 local curlers and one from each provincial/territorial team take part in the $50,000 draw to the button at 9:30 p.m.

Everybody gets one shot and anyone who hits the button gets $50,000 each. Which means, if 10 people hit the button, Co-Operators Insurance, the sponsor for the event, will be doling out $500,000.

'That's the insurance policy they bought from us,' stated Charlton. 'It should be pretty exciting.'