Team Gushue on the rebound at Olympic Trials
Gushue beats Morris and Vernon rink, while Homan scores 2 wins
OTTAWA — A team meeting in the middle of the Tim Hortons Brier kickstarted Brad Gushue’s run to national and world titles earlier this year.
Another sitdown session was needed after an early loss at the Olympic Trials. It appears to be paying some dividends.
Gushue picked up his second straight win Monday morning with an 8-6 victory over John Morris at Canadian Tire Centre. It was an intense, rollicking affair that turned when Gushue delivered a tap for four points in the eighth end.
The St. John’s, N.L., skip — who jawed with teammates and opponents alike during the game — pumped his fist and held his stare after delivering the clutch throw.
“We’re doing a lot of things right, we just haven’t gained any traction yet,” Gushue said. “It certainly felt like we were starting to gain it. It would have been a sin for me not to finish it off.”
Gushue gave up three in the third end after ticking a guard, but pulled even in the fourth with a deuce. He chirped at Morris at one point in the fifth, picked up a steal, and gave second Brett Gallant an earful during the mid-game break.
Gushue seemed determined to will his team to victory.
“Sometimes I walk a fine line because I can get a little bit too intense for the guys,” he said. “But they know what I’m like.”
Morris, who is skipping a rink based in the Okanagan with members from both Vernon and Kelowna, fell to 0-3.
Reigning Olympic champion Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., beat Gushue 7-4 in the evening draw. Gushue, who fell to 2-2, couldn’t recover after giving up three points in the third end due to a picked stone.
The team’s first loss of the competition was a 6-4 decision to Toronto’s John Epping over the weekend. Gushue used terms like “shocked” and “mind blown” to describe his teammates’ play in the final end of the opener.
A post-game talk from the skipper — just like at the Brier nine months ago — soon followed.
“A very similar chat,” said fifth Tom Sallows. “Everybody supports everybody, so that’s the main thing. Just getting back to remembering what got you here and what makes them one of the best in the world.”
“Brad will give them a lecture, but it’s meaningful,” added coach Jules Owchar.
Gushue shot 80 per cent against Morris while the team was 81 per cent overall.
“I thought we put a lot of good ends together this morning that we hadn’t done in the first two games,” Gushue said.
His rink shot an impressive 92 per cent in the nightcap against Jacobs.
Ottawa’s Rachel Homan defeated Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay, Ont., 4-2 in the other morning game. Homan, the reigning world women’s champion, had hammer in the 10th end and used it to score a single.
Homan beat Winnipeg’s Michelle Englot 11-7 in the evening draw, while reigning Olympic champ Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg beat Julie Tippin of Woodstock, Ont., 12-6.