Bottcher rink continues to find success at Brier
Bottcher rink sitting in the catbird seat entering final day of round-robin play
There’s something about the Brier that just seems to work for Brendan Bottcher’s Alberta team.
Bottcher went 8-3 and made the final in Regina in 2018 before losing to Brad Gushue, and then went 9-2 last year in Brandon, Man., before losing the final to Kevin Koe.
This year, Bottcher and his teammates from Edmonton were sitting in first place at 8-1 heading into the final day of the round robin and are once again strong contenders for the Canadian men’s curling championship crown.
All told, Bottcher has a 29-8 record in the last three Briers, even while competing against a who’s who of great Canadian curling teams.
“In some ways, this event is perfect for us,” Bottcher’s third, Darren Moulding, said after his team beat Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone 9-5 on Thursday afternoon at Leon’s Centre.
“The way that provincials and everything works after Christmas, we have a lot of time to prepare. We’re a team that, the more we practice, the better we prepare, the better we play. Alberta playdowns come at the time of year where we get what we need: a good balance of playing and practice.
“During tour season, you just kind of go, go, go, work, work, work, play, play, play. It’s a little tough to find time to practice. That’s probably a big reason why we play really well at this time of year.”
There’s a significant difference with Team Bottcher this year. In the last two Briers, it was just Bottcher, Moulding, second Brad Thiessen and lead Karrick Martin making up the team.
This year, they’ve added a fifth, Patrick Janssen, and brought along a coach, Olympian and two-time Brier winner Don Bartlett.
“Having a fifth and having Donnie here has given all of us more rest,” Moulding said. “I certainly feel fresher than I’ve ever felt at a Brier before. I’ve been working hard on different things to prepare.”
That makes sense, since it was Moulding who did all of the scouting of the rocks last season during practice and pre-game availabilities. An ice technician by trade, Moulding likes to do the scouting of the sheets and rocks, but found it to be stressful on the schedule in the past.
He has off-loaded those duties to Janssen and Bartlett this year.
“I know it really helps Darren because that takes a lot of your time,” Bartlett said. “Now he doesn’t have to worry about that and has extra time to relax.”
Bottcher will have plenty of competition for top spot in the championship pool on Friday.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s two-time champion Gushue is hot on his heels at 7-2, tied with Team Wild Card’s Mike Mcewen.
After that, there are four teams tied at 6-3, including Koe, Ontario’s John Epping, Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs and Saskatchewan’s Dunstone.
Only Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson, at 5-4, seems to be on the outside looking in.
But, so far, this has been Bottcher’s tournament. His team has been the most consistent and has stayed out of trouble. Bottcher hasn’t had to make the circus shots like some other skips, mostly because his team hasn’t left him in those kinds of situations.
“Just the comfort level, being in this situation a few times in a row, is big for us,” Bottcher said. “It’s not a new situation. It lets you just relax and play well and hopefully that’s what we can keep doing.”
Bottcher and his teammates seemed to pride themselves on not having a fifth or a coach at the Brier last year in Brandon. They made it to the final and were inches away from a Canadian title when Koe made a game-winning double in the 10th end.
“This year, that’s been part of the difference. We’re playing well, but just those extra 15-20 minutes that we get at the hotel between the games, that adds up to something at the end of the week.”
Bartlett played in seven Briers and won two of them as the lead for Kevin Martin and won a silver medal at the Olympics in 2002.
It’s hard to believe he’s just here to scout rocks and carry broom bags, but he said the curlers don’t ask or need much.
“There’s a few things,” Bartlett said. “The first five or six games, I didn’t write a note down on strategy, and then one game we had a few things.
“It’s just tiny tweaks, something Kevin and I might have done different.”