DEEP FIELD SETS STAGE FOR BIG FINISH
Brilliant shotmaking in preliminary round hints at high drama still to come at Brier
In a Tim Hortons Brier that has already featured some of the greatest shots in the history of the tournament, the big boys of the game are just getting warmed up.
The championship round begins on Thursday at Leon’s Centre and it promises to be a stellar display of curling, with games featuring a who’s who of the men’s curling elite in Canada.
Led by undefeated Brendan Bottcher of Alberta (7-0), Brad Gushue of Newfoundland (6-1), Mike Mcewen of Team Wild
Card (6-1) and Matt Dunstone of Saskatchewan (6-1), the championship round could be one for the ages, especially if the curlers keep making circus shots draw after draw.
“The shotmaking has been incredible,” two-time Brier champ Gushue said Wednesday after winning games over Prince Edward Island (11-8) and Quebec (10-4).
“Not only that, but the timeliness of the shotmaking. The top level of the men’s game right now is so tough and so deep and so even and so strong. I haven’t seen anything like it.”
That’s saying something, since Gushue has seen it all. He’s playing in his 17th Brier, and when he started, it was a golden age of curling, with skips like Kevin Martin, Jeff Stoughton, Glenn Howard and Randy Ferbey dominating the scene.
This week the top eight teams in the CTRS rankings are in the field and they all qualified for the championship round after the last preliminary round draw on Wednesday night.
“I can only imagine, at home, watching all these shots being made, you’re probably coming off your couch a number of times this week,” Gushue said, alluding to game-winners by Dunstone, Team Canada’s Kevin Koe, and Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson.
“It’s been fun and it shows the calibre of the game. It also shows the calibre of the ice. It’s been incredible, and that’s why you see so many precise shots.”
Precise barely describes how well some of the curlers have played so far.
Take Dunstone, for instance. The 24-year-old from Winnipeg, who is representing Saskatchewan, curled 100 per cent in back-to-back wins on Tuesday. He was at 100 per cent through six ends of a 12-3 win over Yukon Wednesday night as well. That’s 26 straight ends without even a hint of a miss.
Or how about Bottcher’s team, which made it to the Brier finals in 2018 and 2019, cruising along at 7-0 despite playing in a field full of Olympic gold medallists, world champions and Brier winners?
“It’s incredible how far the game has come the last eight to 10 years,” said Marc Kennedy, the veteran third for Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs.
“Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, here we go again. Skips throwing 100 per cent and doing it with no easy shots. There’s amazing shots to win games. It’s so exciting for our sport.
“Sometimes it sucks to be on the losing end of it, but at the end of the day, it’s a good feeling to be in such great games with so many great shots. For those of us who just love the sport of curling. It’s just awesome.”
Bottcher and teammates Darren Moulding, Brad Thiessen and Karrick Martin have been models of consistency in a tournament where even some of the best teams have had ups and downs.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” he said after a 9-6 win over
Prince Edward Island.
“We’ve toughed out some really difficult games. That’s what it takes, though. The field is so good here that the teams at the end of the week have had their share of breaks, they’ve had their share of great shots, and they’ve toughed it out maybe a little more than some of the other guys.”
Jacobs came into the 2020 Brier with the No. 1-ranked team in the world, but sported a 1-3 record after Monday’s games and has been on the verge of elimination ever since.
Don’t look now though, here they come. Northern Ontario won its third straight game Wednesday (10-3 over Nunavut) to get to 4-3 and qualified for the championship round.
“We’ve been building, getting stronger and more confident every game,” Jacobs said. “We’re feeling great at this point, but there’s a long way to go.
“It’s been up and down. It’s been a battle. We’re in a fight for our lives here, but we welcome every bit of adversity and hardship. It’s a Canadian championship, it’s not supposed to be easy.”
Also qualifying for the championship round Wednesday were Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson (5-2), Koe (5-2) and Ontario’s John Epping, who squeaked in with a 4-3 record. The best, he says, is yet to come for curling fans.
“It’s gonna be a battle … Thursday-friday is gonna be a show,” he said. “It’s gonna be unbelievable the next two days.”
Koe’s third B.J. Neufeld agreed curling fans are going to be treated to something special.
“There are teams battling for their lives,” he said. “It should be amazing curling. Our team hasn’t hit our stride yet and we’re gonna have to find that if we want to make the weekend. The men’s game in Canada is super strong right now and this Brier field is the best ever. Whoever comes out of the gauntlet over the next four days is gonna be well prepared for the worlds.”