They got here by a ‘whisker’
The Fear the Beard boys reached the Tim Hortons Brier presented by Mosiac by the hairs of their chinny-chin chins.
A couple of years ago, the 2014 Olympic gold medallist team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., grew beards. This year, skip Brad Jacobs, third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden are back at the Brier representing Northern Ontario for the sixth time in seven years.
But they barely got here.
At the provincial championship, they lost two early games and were forced into the position of having to win four games in 31 hours. In the final, they were up against a hotshot young team skipped by 20-year-old Tanner Horgan of Sudbury. The kids had the vets on the precipice of defeat leading 5-2 in the eighth end after scoring three in the seventh.
Jacobs managed to get two in the eighth to narrow the deficit. They looked to be toast again in the ninth when Horgan had a shot to seal the deal with his final rock but came up heavy and wide allowing Jacobs to tie the game 5-5. Jacobs stole the winning point in the 10th when Horgan tried a double run-back that jammed.
“Hey, you’ve got to be good to be lucky,” admitted Jacobs, who still sports whiskers. “We certainly got some massive breaks in that Northern Ontario final. Certainly the- re was some luck invol d, th re’s no doubt about that, we’re the first ones to admit that. But I was really proud of the our team s able to hang in th re in that final when it looked like we weren’ going to win, but we just kept plugging away aking shots. Weir things happen in sport in ch mpionship finals, and sometimes you just need to be able to ge to the end of the game with a chance and you never know what will appen.”
So out on the ice di it feel like they were playing a version of themselves circa 2005?
“Ten, 15 years ago? Ho about like five years ago?” exclaimed Jacobs. “Tanner Horgan’s team, they played unbeliebable. We said it throughout the playdowns in Northern Ontari it felt like we were playing agains Koe, McEwen, Gushue. Th e teams played very well, Tanner Horgan’s team in part ular. think they’re just a phenomenal, young, talented te m and they’ve got a bright future. Certainly, they’re miles ahead of wh re we were when we were at that age.”
Horgan, who s represented Northern Ontario at five Canadian junior championships, played so well going 7-0 in the roun ro in, Jacobs ked him to be the te m’s alternate this week.
“Right now we felt like Tanner s the best choice,” said Jacobs. With the Olympics in the books, a Brier player movement expect- ed to ramp up as teams jockey for position for the next quadrennial. Bu the Jacobs team has alread agreed to keep the family together. Jacobs and the Harndens are cousins, although Fry, a Winnipeg native, s move to Calgar where his fiancee works. pite the relo ation, Fr didn’ hesi ate to stick with his mates. Wh wouldn’ he, retorted Fry?
"We've been a top-three team, top-f ur r team in the worl ” said Fry, 33, who s also retained a bi of a beard.
Quipped Ryan Harn en, “We tried to ge ri of him off the team but he paid us.”
“Yeah, I put th m in my wedding party,” Fr replied.