National Post (National Edition)
Jacobs team shooting lights out at Brier
There’s no team in the Tim Hortons Brier more dialed in right now than the Brad Jacobs foursome from Northern Ontario.
Through five games at the Canadian men’s curling championship, Jacobs and his teammates have been stunningly efficient, leading in almost every statistical category and in the standings, where they top Pool B with a gleaming 5-0 record.
This team is looking as strong as it has at any time since 2014, when it won an Olympic gold medal in Sochi, less than a year after it won its first and only Brier title.
There are significant differences between this team and that one from five years ago. The curlers are more mature and more grounded, for the most part — third Ryan Fry’s poor behaviour at a bonspiel in Red Deer earlier this season being the glaring exception — and they are a calmer group, not nearly as prone to emotional reactions to the highs and lows of the game. Some of them have become parents and have different priorities in life.
And yet, no one wants to let that fire, passion and energy that the team became known for in its glory years disappear.
“We don’t want to go too far back because we know we can’t be at our best when that energy level isn’t where we need it,” second E.J. Harnden said Tuesday after a 7-5 win over Saskatchewan that clinched Northern Ontario a spot in the championship round.
“Really, for us, it’s been a balancing act of trying to find the right place of where that energy needs to be for us to be at our best, but it’s also not taking away from us individually and collectively as a team.
“That’s been the key for us for the last number of years, is harnessing that. We want to be right on the edge but not go over.”
In a way, the Jacobs team members have been revolutionaries in the game of curling. In a gentlemanly sport, they angered some fans and observers with their brash ways, and yet the energy they brought to the game eventually rubbed off on others.
“There was criticism early because the sport wasn’t used to it, but now it’s commonplace,” E.J. Harnden said. “I’m proud of the energy that we brought to the game, as a unit, and I’m proud that we did it, not because we thought it needed it, but because that’s who we are as people and as athletes.”
Also including lead Ryan Harnden, the team from Sault Ste. Marie has had an outstanding season, sitting second in the Canadian Team Ranking System standings and winning the both the Canada Cup and the Grand Slam Tour Challenge.
It would surprise no one to see this team in the Brier final on Sunday, especially after watching the curlers perform in their first five games.
Jacobs leads all skips by curling at 93 per cent, Fry is tops among thirds at 94 per cent, E.J. Harnden is No. 1 among seconds at 94 per cent and Ryan Harnden is fourth among leads at 89 per cent. The team is averaging 8.4 points per game, making it awfully tough for any opponent to win.
“Everybody’s got a lot of confidence right now and the boys are making everything in front of me,” Jacobs said. “It’s a lot of fun to be out there playing.”
And yet, it must be noted that in their last four Brier appearances, they haven’t been able to win it all (they do have bronze and silver medals), making one wonder if tempering their energy can be a hindrance.
“For us, we’ve taken it back a little bit but we’re always looking for that big shot and that release of the energy because we love the game so much, we have so much passion for the game, and sometimes it’s just nice to let that out,” E.J. Harnden said.
One thing Jacobs is not about to do is get ahead of himself.
Yes, his team is playing great right now, but there are still a lot of big games to be played before the Tankard Trophy gets handed out.
“Everybody has handled their emotions very well,” Jacobs said. “It’s going to be important, these next stretch of games, that we continue to manage our emotions well in the bigger games and the more stressful moments.”
That stretch of big games was set to start Tuesday night with a game against Manitoba’s Mike McEwen. The championship round gets underway Thursday and then the playoffs are right around the corner.
“I’m really proud of the way the guys have come out and performed so far,” Jacobs said. “Now we need to play some more great ones.”