Slow start to open Brier was Laycock’s downfall
We’re going to look back and say it was the slow start that hurt us. Being 0-2 was obviously tough to come back from.
In the end, Steve Laycock wasn’t able to overcome a poor start at the Tim Hortons Brier.
The Team Saskatchewan skip opened the Canadian men’s curling championship with back-toback losses. That result meant Laycock was in must-win territory from the opening weekend of the Brier at the Brandt Centre.
Laycock (third), Matt Dunstone (who throws fourth stones), Kirk Muyres (second) and Dallan Muyres (lead) rallied by winning four consecutive games en route to qualifying for the championship pool.
The Saskatoon skip kept alive his hopes of advancing to Saturday’s Page Playoff with an 8-6 win over Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher on Thursday afternoon.
Laycock then suffered a 5-4 loss to Team Canada’s Brad Gushue on Thursday night. A 6-4 loss to Team Wild Card’s Mike McEwen on Friday ended Laycock’s chances of winning a Canadian men’s title in his home province, with one game remaining.
“We’re going to look back and say it was the slow start that hurt us,’’ Laycock said.
“Being 0-2 was obviously tough to come back from.”
Laycock had to beat McEwen, and then Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy in Friday’s late game, while hoping that Bottcher lost both his games to force a tiebreaker.
The first part of that scenario played out Friday when Bottcher was beaten 9-7 by Ontario’s John Epping in the afternoon draw.
Laycock then watched as McEwen drew the four-foot against one of Saskatchewan’s counters in the 10th end to win the match.
“There was enough going on in our game that we were mostly paying attention to that,” Laycock said.
“When we saw (Alberta) give up a four (in the third end), we knew our chances of staying alive were pretty good.”
Laycock joins the long list of Saskatchewan skips who have failed to end the province’s drought — now at 38 years and counting — at the national men’s curling championship.
Not since 1980 has Saskatchewan won the Brier. That year, Saskatoon’s Rick Folk won both the Canadian and world championships.
“It’s not the weight (of expectations) as much as it is an excitement, because it would be so cool to to be part of a team that ends that drought,” Kirk Muyres said. “I see it as an honour to do that for Saskatchewan.”
Why the drought has gone on so long is the subject of great debate in Saskatchewan, especially when the Brier rolls around.
Among the many theories presented is that Saskatchewan’s teams don’t stay together long enough to develop chemistry. They don’t play enough on the cash circuit to gain the experience that’s needed to compete with elite teams, especially at the Brier.
Laycock doesn’t have any of those reasons for his showing at this year’s Brier because he’s as accomplished as any recent skip to represent the province.
He’s a regular on the World Curling Tour and plays as much as any of the elite teams. For the most part, Laycock has curled with the same lineup and has appeared in four of the last five Briers.
Kirk Muyres hasn’t given up on one day capturing a men’s title for Saskatchewan.
“We’re still young and I’m only 27,” Kirk said. “(Laycock coach) Pat Simmons didn’t get to his first Brier until he was 30 and I’ve been to four of them.
“We just have to keep getting better. As long as we get better every day, it will happen for us, and that time will come. We have to be patient and enjoy the game because that’s why we do it.”
Three Saskatchewan skips have come close to ending the drought since Folk’s magical year.
Saskatoon’s Eugene Hritzuk (1988), Regina’s Randy Woytowich (1991) and Kerrobert’s Brad Heidt (1995) all reached the Brier final before bowing out.
“Anytime you get to the Brier, you go there with the expectation of playing well and giving yourself a chance to win, and we didn’t win quite enough games to do that this year,” Laycock said.
“It’s back to the drawing board.” Epping (9-1), Gushue (9-1) and Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs (8-2) have all qualified for the Page playoffs.
The fourth team had yet to be determined at press time.
The 3 vs. 4 Page playoff game unfolds Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by the 1 vs. 2 match at 7 p.m. The semifinal is slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. The final goes at 6 p.m.