Gushue sinks B.C. to extend roll at Brier, stay undefeated
EDMONTON — What a difference a year has made for Brad Gushue and his Newfoundland and Labrador rink at the Tim Hortons Brier.
After a disappointing 5-6 mark last year in Saskatoon, Gushue’s foursome continued its perfect start to this year’s Canadian men’s curling championship Tuesday, picking up a 6-3 win over B.C.’s Andrew Bilesky at Rexall Place in Draw 8 action.
Gushue’s win over a pesky B.C. team, which came into the afternoon looking for its first victory, ran the St. John’s-based rink’s record to 6-0, as Newfoundland and Labrador heads into Draw 10 action Wednesday morning tied atop the standings with Ontario.
“Last year we got off to a tough start. We were 1-5 and had a tough schedule,” said Geoff Walker (lead), who hails from Beaverlodge, Alta., and was recruited by Gushue to make the move to St. John’s back in 2011.
“We’ve got a really good chemistry with these guys. Brett’s (Gallant, third) fit in really well. We had some ups and downs at the start of the year, but stuff like that happens. Over the last few events and going into provincials, we’ve just been slowly getting better and better. We had a lot of confidence coming in.”
For host Alberta, Kevin Martin’s frustrating hometown Brier continued as New Brunswick earned a last-shot 6-5 victory in the afternoon draw to improve to 3-3, while Martin suffered a fourth loss. Despite a 9-3 win later in the day over Nova Scotia, Martin’s playoff hopes are virtually over, sitting at 2-4 heading into Wednesday.
“Dead,” said Martin after Draw 8 when asked if his team still had a chance of making the four-team playoff with four losses.
“Just because we’ve lost to both Quebec and Northern Ontario. I think so. We had to win that game.”