Brier was ‘stepping stone,’ Victoria rink says
Once to you get a taste, you always crave more.
The Victoria Curling Club seems set for a run at the B.C. championship three-peat following its second-consecutive appearance in the Brier national championship tournament.
The VCC rink finished 4-4 in the 2024 Brier in Regina, improving on its 3-5 from 2023, and vowed to return.
“We’ve not talked about it yet but I will return next season. I can’t see why not,” said skip Catlin Schneider, who was backed by third Sterling Middleton, second Jason Ginter and lead Alex Horvath on the B.C.champion VCC rink.
“We’ve put ourselves in a spot to build on. This Brier was a stepping stone,” added Schneider.
“We were close. A couple of very close games didn’t go our way. If they had, we would have been in the playoffs. And we were one of the youngest rinks in the Brier against guys who have been to four, five, eight Briers.
“Some of these other rinks are getting up in age.”
Even at 32, Schneider is considered young for a skip in the world of curling.
“It’s hard to believe in comparison with other sports but that’s the way it is in curling. Brad Gushue was [41] and still winning an Olympic medal for Canada [bronze at Beijing in 2022].”
Schneider joined the Victoria rink this season to replace the 2023 B.C.-champion VCC skip Jacques Gauthier.
Gauthier left to join the Calgary rink of Olympian and two-time world-champion Kevin Koe this season.
It was the fourth Brier for Schneider after being part of Saskatchewan-champion rinks at three previous Briers. Schneider received a lot of attention the past week, including nationally, as a local Regina guy playing in B.C. colours.
“It was quite the year and quite the journey and something new for me,” said Schneider.
The Schneider rink was the sixth from the VCC to play in the Brier following Gauthier last year, Dean Joanisse in 2007 and 2001, Tim Horrigan in 1980 and Tony Gutoski in 1958. It was the eighth appearance by an Island rink in the Brier, including Glen Harper of Duncan in 1960 and 1963.
Schneider’s VCC foursome was looking to become the first rink from B.C. to win the Brier since Greg McAulay of Royal City in 2000 and the fifth Brier-winning rink from B.C. including Rick Folk’s of Kelowna in 1994, Lyall Dagg’s of Vancouver in 1964 and Frenchy D’Amour’s of Trail in 1948.
The quest to end that drought continues next year with the VCC foursome of Schneider, Middleton, Ginter and Horvath looking promising to be right back in that hunt. cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
— A revitalized Mike McEwen has been good for Saskatchewan’s chances of ending a 43-year-old drought at the Canadian men’s curling championship.
Recruited last year by Colton Flasch, Kevin Marsh and Daniel Marsh to skip them as their outof-province import, they beat Matt Dunstone 6-5 on Saturday and were two wins from becoming the first Saskatchewan team to win a Brier since Rick Folk’s in 1980.
The host province advanced to today’s semifinal, and avoided elimination, in Regina’s Brand Centre where McEwen’s hit against three Dunstone counters for the winning point in the 10th end drew a standing ovation.
“It’s going to go down as one of my best memories ever in my whole career, no matter how this ends,” said the 43-year-old from Winnipeg.
Meanwhile, Brad Gushue gained an express ticket to the championship game with a 7-3 playoff win over Brendan Bottche.
Gushue, third Mark Nichols and lead Geoff Walker were attempting to win the sixth Canadian men’s curling championship of their careers and third straight, which would tie both of Randy Ferbey’s records. Gushue could become the first man to skip a team to six titles.
Alberta’s Bottcher, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, dropped to today’s semifinal to face McEwen, with the winner facing Gushue in the final.
“I expect to have to play an A, A-plus game to win, but we’ve done that multiple times through the week,” McEwen said.
Today’s winner represents Canada at the men’s world championship March 30 to April 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and returns to the 2025 Montana’s Brier in Kelowna as defending champion.
The victor also banks a berth in the 2025 Olympic trials pending a top-six result in Switzerland.
A Saskatchewan team hasn’t reached a final since Brad Heidt lost to Kerry Burtnyk in 1995. The Marsh twins were born in Regina and Flasch in Biggar.
“Our goal coming in here was to be there in the final game on Sunday,” Kevin said. “It’s something we’ve talked about and thought about, and it’s in our goals, right? This is where we expect to be and if we play really well, I think we’ll be in a good spot come Sunday.”
McEwen led Saturday’s playoff game 5-1 after six ends. But Dunstone, who lost to Gushue in last year’s Brier final, scored his first deuce in the seventh and stole single points in the eighth and ninth to be tied coming home.
Saskatchewan had 11 seconds remaining on their time clock when McEwen released the last stone of the 10th end. While the skip had an open nose hit for the win, disaster awaited a few centimetres narrow or wide.
McEwen is the first man to skip three different provinces at the Brier. His best result in seven tries with Manitoba was third in St. John’s, N.L., in 2017.