EDMONTON -- The hometown team is struggling at the Canadian men's curling championship.
Alberta's Kevin Martin lost 8-1 to Northern Ontario's Brad Jacobs on Monday, dropping the reigning Olympic champion and four-time Canadian champion to 1-3.
"It is hard to hang your head," Martin said. "There's no reason to I think. It's just we've got smarten up and curl better."
The top four teams at the conclusion of the round robin on Friday advance to the Page playoff.
Three losses doesn't put Martin's team in the danger zone yet, but the Edmonton foursome is running out of wiggle room early at the Tim Hortons Brier.
"Three is safe, but we have three already so we have to get on a roll, bottom line," the skip said.
The host committee certainly wants their star attraction playing into the weekend. Martin hasn't won a Brier in his hometown yet in his career. The 46-year-old can set a record for the most Canadian titles won by a skip if his team can right the ship.
Jacobs, defending champion Glenn Howard of Ontario and Brad Gushue and Newfoundland and Labrador were the undefeated teams at 4-0 heading into Monday evening's draw.
Three-time Canadian champion Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba defeated Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard 7-6 to put both teams at 3-1.
Saskatchewan's Brock Virtue defeated Prince Edward Island's Eddie MacKenzie 4-2 to get to 2-2. Alberta was tied with New Brunswick's James Grattan at three losses.
Nova Scotia Paul Flemming, B.C.'s Andrew Bilesky and P.E.I. were winless in four games.
Martin, Howard and Stoughton were the three pre-tournament favourites. Howard's team thumped Nova Scotia 10-2 to extend their winning streak.
"We're getting this little mojo going," Howard said. "Hopefully it will continue. You never know. It can drop right off, but you want to ride that. It's all about confidence and I like the four of us are playing confidently right now and we'll just keep it going."
Jacobs made the most of the hammer in the first end against Martin by scoring three, followed by a steal of one to take an early lead.
"We got in trouble early," Martin said. "Once you're down three, we had to gamble early in a game and then you get further behind.
"Northern Ontario are really good at hitting. You get down that many, the odds of coming back aren't very good."
This is the fourth straight year 27-year-old Jacobs has skipped Northern Ontario at the Brier and their best result was third in 2010. While Martin and teammates struggled Monday, Jacobs and company showed no mercy. As a team, they curled 96 per cent to Alberta's 79.
"We were able to defend really well and we got a few breaks," Jacobs said. "Those guys didn't play really well and they'll be the first to admit that. We didn't let them come up for air."
