Gushue rink looks to work quickly in Camrose

At the tail end of a busy stretch of competition, Brad Gushue and his teammates are looking to take the shortest route possible to the playoffs at the Meridian Canadian Open, the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling event being played this week in Camrose, Alta. Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker took a 1-0 record into their game against Peter de Cruz’s Swiss rink Wednesday night.

The Open features a triple knockout format in the preliminary round, meaning teams must win three games before they lose three in order to qualify for the weekend playoffs. A first loss drops a team to the B bracket and a second to the C bracket. Three teams will qualify for the playoffs out of the C bracket with 3-2 records, but will have played two more preliminary games than the two teams emerging from the A bracket, who will be 3-0. Three playoff contenders from the B bracket will be 3-1. To be one of the quick-route teams is just a matter of continuing to win.

That’s the goal for the members of the Gushue rink, who have competed in the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials and the Continental Cup since the start of the new year.

“I think we’re happy we’re at a Slam where the schedule (means) you don’t have too many back-to-back games,” Gallant said. “We’ve been on the ice a lot the past two weeks, but we’re getting a little bit more rested as we go on here.

“We’d love to qualify in as few games as possible.” Gushue’s team has reached the Canadian Open final in four consecutive seasons, winning the title twice, in 2014 and again last year.