The Koe Show hogs Brier spotlight
While Kevin is favoured to challenge for championship, Jamie is attempting a miracle on ice
SASKATOON — It’s the Kevin and Jamie Koe show at the Tim Hortons Brier.
The surprising aspect of that statement is Jamie’s performance at the Canadian men’s curling championship as few expected the skip of the lightly regarded Northwest TerritoriesYukon to be near the top of the standings with his older brother from Alberta.
Yet when Monday’s draws ended at the Credit Union Centre, Kevin Koe was leading the field with a 5- 0 record, and Jamie Koe and Ontario’s Glenn Howard were tied for second at 4- 1.
“I’m not really surprised,” Jamie Koe said after beating Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador 10- 6 on Monday night.
“There are a lot of teams here that we thought we matched up well against. We’re beating the teams that we need to beat. We’re playing well. We just have to keep it going.”
The Koe rinks couldn’t be more different. Kevin won the 2010 Canadian and world men’s titles, is a regular on the World Curling Tour and is among the leading money winners in the country. Jamie rarely leaves Yellowknife to play in bonspiels.
“They don’t get a lot of competition like we do,” Kevin said after beating Saskatchewan’s Scott Manners 6- 3 on Monday. “They are knocking off some favourites and I hope they keep it going.”
Even Jamie felt there wasn’t any comparison between the teams.
“The only bonspiels we played as a team were playdowns and now the Brier,” said Jamie, who is appearing in his sixth Brier as a skip. “We do practise a lot and our focus is the Brier. This is our week.”
The Northwest TerritoriesYukon has never won a Brier. Alberta has won 25 of them, second to Manitoba’s 27.
The best finish by the Northwest Territories- Yukon is a tie for second while finishing 8- 3 in 1975, the first year the province took part. Playoffs had yet to be established back then.
Jamie has experienced similar starts at the Brier, which tempers his enthusiasm. In 2007, he opened the championships in Hamilton with four consecutive wins.
“We finished 5- and- 6 and the wheels fell off pretty quickly,” said he. “We learned a lot back then. We got caught up in the fans, the media and other stuff. It’s pretty easy to get sidetracked from curling when you start going to the Brier Patch. We still like to have our fun, but we’re a lot tamer and hopefully a lot more wiser.”
The Koes have dominated Saskatchewan- based teams at the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts and now the Brier. Kerry Galusha, Jamie’s twin sister, beat Team Canada’s Amber Holland ( who curls out of Kronau) and Saskatchewan’s Michelle Englot during the final day of the round robin in Red Deer.
Kevin beat Manners on Monday and Jamie defeated Manners 9- 5 in the morning.
Howard kept pace after beating Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario 6- 5 in an extra end after a 12- foot raise to score one. Howard played in his 174th game at the Brier, tying his brother, Russ, for most games played at the Canadian championship at any position. Glenn Howard should break the record when he plays Saskatchewan this afternoon.
Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy, B. C.’ s Jim Cotter and Manitoba’s Rob Fowler were tied for fourth with 3- 2 records. The top four teams at the end of Thursday’s round robin advance to the Page playoffs.
The final is set for Sunday.