David Murdoch's Scottish foursome got taken to school Thursday by the defending world champs.

Glenn Howard's Coldwater, Ont., foursome was clicking on all cylinders as they cruised to an 8-2 romp over Murdoch's rink during the Thursday night draw on the first day of the Continental Cup of Curling.

Team North America leads Team Europe 36-18 in the overall standings. Action resumes Friday with games all day at The Arena in Medicine Hat.

Howard's team of lead Craig Savill, second Brent Laing and third Richard Hart entered the season as reigning world champions and looked every bit the part at The Arena.

"Our fear this year was complacency," said Howard. "We are now Team Glenn Howard starting a new year from scratch. We need to work harder. There is going to be a bit of a target on your back."

Murdoch's foursome of lead Euan Byers, second Peter Smith, and third Niklas Edin entered play five days after winning the men's European title. They pretty much were blown out of the rink in front of a crowd of 2,543 fans.