Ontario’s Epping hoping to stay in hunt at Brier as championship round heats up
KINGSTON, ONT. In a way, losing three games in the preliminary round has made things uncomplicated for John Epping and his Ontario teammates.
“We almost fell off the roller-coaster a few times,” Epping’s lead Brent Laing said Thursday at the Tim Hortons Brier. “I think we’ve lost our safety belts and we’re just holding on for dear life now. We know we can’t afford any more losses, so it’s pretty simple.”
It’s debatable whether Laing is correct. Yes, his team has three losses, but with the top eight teams in Canada fighting it out for four playoff spots, four losses could still be in the picture, but the must-win attitude still makes sense.
Ontario put a strong foot forward on Thursday afternoon with a 9-5 win over Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson at Leon’s Centre to improve it’s record to 5-3.
There are still three championship round games to come for the home province team, but they are at least keeping their name in the mix for the playoffs.
“There’s eight great teams left here and there’s four that aren’t going to make the playoffs,” Epping said. “We don’t have to think much. It’s pretty much just win.”
Ontario was back on the ice
Thursday night against Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue, who was in second place with a 7-1 record.
“It’s a great field and we’ve played some really tough teams, so to be 7-1 is awesome,” said Gushue, a two-time Canadian champion.
“We’re in good position, but still a lot of work to do. I don’t think 7-4 is going to get straight in, so we’ve got to find another win to get in the playoffs and probably another two or three to get into the 1-2 game. Lots of work ahead of us.”
Gushue certainly thinks it’s possible teams with as many as four losses will get into tiebreakers.
“I’ve played in a few more of these than most people and I’ve seen 7-4 get in on a few occasions,” said Gushue, playing in his 17th Brier. “It’s been a long time, but it could happen this week. We’ve been 7-4 and gotten straight into the playoffs, 7-4 and played tiebreakers, 7-4 and missed the playoffs. Sometimes, it’s just dumb luck.”
EVOLUTION OF CURLING
Marc Kennedy is playing in his ninth Brier and has won it three times. He played second for Kevin Martin and third for Kevin Koe, two of the all-time great skips, and has competed against the very best curlers in the world over a couple of eras. He’s been to the Olympics twice and has a gold medal from 2010 in Vancouver.
Despite all that, some of the best curling he’s ever seen is going on right now at the Brier in Kingston.
The 38-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., who plays third for Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs, said he believes it’s all about the athletes getting younger, getting stronger and having more opportunities to play in big events like the Grand Slam of Curling.
“Playing against the best all the time, you just make each other better,” Kennedy said. “That’s how a sport evolves to what you see out there right now.”
Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher, 28, and Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone, 24, have been two of the stars of the tournament. Dunstone made Brier history by becoming the first skip to curl 100 per cent in two consecutive games and went 26 ends without a hint of a miss before finally losing to Bottcher on Thursday.
“For young guys like Matt Dunstone to come out and play the way he has played, at that age, or a Brendan Bottcher … that’s the evolution of our sport,” Kennedy said. “Younger, better, mentally stronger, fitter, technically strong. It’s all of the above ... it’s just awesome to see for us old guys.”