Ontario’s Epping climbs back into the playoff mix at Brier
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.”
The boys from Ontario might still be in a precarious position, but they are walking the tight rope perfectly so far.
On Thursday, they won twice to get right back into the playoff picture with a 6-3 record, beating Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson 9- 5 in the afternoon at Leon’s Centre and then topping twotime Canadian champion Brad Gushue of Newfoundland 8-4 in the evening.
Their wins put them in a four-way tie for fourth place with two draws left in the championship pool. They still might not be able to afford a loss, but they’ve certainly got a chance to still be playing on Saturday,
“There’s eight great teams left here and there’s four that aren’t gonna make the playoffs,” Epping said. “The field is so good so we’re just gonna go out, enjoy it, make shots and hope we’re on the right side at the end. We don’t have to think much. It’s pretty much just win.”
Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs has been in the same position as Epping since Monday when his world No. 1-ranked team fell to 1-3.
Jacobs has won every game since and is also in the mix at 6-3.
Gushue fell back to 7- 2, but is tied with Team Wild Card’s Mike Mcewen for second place and is in excellent shape to make the final four.
“It’s a great field and we’ve played some really tough teams, so to be 7- 2 is awesome,” said Gushue.
“We’re in good position but still a lot of work to do. I don’t think 7- 4 is gonna get straight in so we’ve got to find another win to get in the playoffs and probably another two to get into the 1-2 game. Lots of work ahead of us.”
WILD CARD SPLITS
Team Wild Card ( Mike Mcewen) lost his second game of the tournament on Thursday morning against Jacobs, but bounced back in the evening with a 5- 4 win over fellow Manitoba Jason Gunnlaugson to get to 7- 2, tied with Gushue and just a game back of first- place Brendan Bottcher of Alberta (8-1).
Mcewen, who missed the playoffs last year as skip of Team Manitoba, is in a great spot, but his team knows it hasn’t guaranteed anything yet.
“It’s feels like an absolute war out there,” Wild Card third Reid Carruthers said.
“You get to the championship round and you’re playing against the best teams in the world. For us to get a split today, we’re still right in the mix and that where we want to be.”
Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone also started the day with just one loss, but fell twice on Thursday, 9- 5 to Bottcher and 7-4 to Jacobs.
The good news is his team had a bit of a buffer coming in and isn’t out of it yet.
“That’s the beauty of going 6-1 in the preliminary round,” Dunstone said. “We still control our own fate. We spent our buffer pretty early though. Now it’s time to buckle down, just like we did early in the week.”
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 alltime 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 on Kingston.
The 38- year- old from St. Albert, Alta., who plays third for Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs, 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.
“I’ve been playing Brad Gushue now for 23 years and you’re just always back and forth. What are they doing to get better? What are we doing to get better? Are we doing enough?
“That ’ s how a sport evolves to what you see out there right now.”
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.”
MANITOBA’S YEAR?
It has been Manitoba’s year so far in curling and it’s no different at the Brier.
Not only did the Mcewen and Gunnlaugson teams from Manitoba make it to the championship round, but so did Winnipeggers Dunstone ( Saskatchewan skip), B. J. Neufeld ( Team Canada third), and Ryan Fry ( Ontario third). That makes the odds of someone from the province winning the Brier pretty good.
Manitoba has already produced two Canadian and world junior champions (Jacques Gauthier and Mackenzie Zacharias) and the Scotties Tournament of Hearts winner ( Kerri Einarson). Manitoba also had two teams in the Scotties, as Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones competed as Team Wild Card.
“The pressure is really on us and Gunner,” Carruthers said. “It was super impressive to see the Manitoba teams do so well at the Scotties and Kerri win it and Jones to make it to the semifinal. For us it would be a good scenario if we could see two Manitoba teams in the final four this week. You couldn’t really ask for much more.”