Much on the line for Gushue, Smith in Monday night games
Much on the line for Gushue, Smith in Monday night games The two Newfoundland-based teams — both out of St. John’s — had big games in Monday’s late draw at the Tim Hortons Brier in Regina.
Provincial representative Greg Smith, 1-2 entering Monday night, took on Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher, while Brad Gushue and Team Canada faced long-time rival Mike Mcewen and his wildcard entry out of Winnipeg . Both came into the game with 3-0 records. Mcewen, who was bronze medallist at the 2017 Brier in St. John’s won by Gushue, actually won his first four games in Regina since he and his rinkmates were also the extra-end victors in Friday’s wild-card play-in game against fellow Manitoban Jason Gunnlaughson.
For Gushue, it was a battle for first place. For Smith, the game against Alberta could be seen as a battle to pretty much retain hope of advancing past the preliminary round.
For the first time ever, the Brier format sees 16 entries divided into two eight-team pools. Each team plays seven games in the preliminary round, with the top four finishers from each pool advancing into the championship pool. From those eight, four teams will eventually qualify for the Page playoffs.
It is generally conceded teams would need to finish at least 4-3 in preliminary play to have a good chance of moving forward — that was certainly how Smith saw it heading into the tourney. And while a loss to Alberta would have only given Newfoundland and Labrador three defeats, Smith still has tough matchups remaining against Gushue and Mcewen on Wednesday after facing British Columbia today. The results of Monday’s late games weren’t available at The Telegram’s press deadline, but can be found online at thetelegram.com.