Brad Gushue taken to hospital, returns after fall at Masters curling event

Brad Gushue overcame a scary fall and a trip to the hospital, but he was unable to overcome Steve Laycock.

Laycock defeated Gushue 5-2 Saturday in quarter-final action at the Grand Slam of Curling Masters in a match that saw Gushue fall and hit his head on the ice in the fourth end.

Gushue was taken to a nearby hospital and had a cut above his right eye stitched up. He came back to applause in the seventh end with his St. John's, N.L., team trailing 3-1.

The 2006 Olympic champion narrowed Laycock's lead to 3-2 by scoring one in the seventh. But Saskatoon's Laycock, who earlier Saturday defeated Glenn Howard 6-3 in a tiebreak, responded with two in the eighth to set up a semifinal match with Jim Cotter.

Cotter and his foursome from Vernon, B.C., advanced to the semifinals with an 8-1 rout of reigning Olympic champion Brad Jacobs.

Jacobs and his team form Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., tied the match with one in the fourth. But Cotter responded with three in the fifth, a steal of one in the sixth and three more in the seventh.

The other semifinal will feature Calgary's Kevin Koe and Winnipeg's Mike McEwen.

Koe defeated Sweden's Niklas Edin 7-5, while McEwen triumphed 7-4 over Reid Carruthers in an all-Winnipeg matchup.

Rachel Homan and her Ottawa foursome remained the only undefeated rink on the women's side, booking their spot in the semifinals by doubling up Winnipeg's Jennifer Jones 8-4.

Homan led 5-1 through four ends, but Jones scored singles in the fifth, sixth and seventh to put the pressure on in the eighth. Homan pulled through by scoring three in the final end to seal the quarter-final victory.

Homan will face Winnipeg's Kristy McDonald, who downed Mary-Anne Arsenault of Halifax 5-2 in the quarters.

Winnipeg's Kerri Einarson and Edmonton's Val Sweeting round out the other semifinal matchup on the women's side.

Einarson toppled Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni 10-7, while Sweeting dismantled Russia's Anna Sidorova 7-3.

Semifinal action begins Sunday morning, with the finals going in the evening.