Stoughton battles Brier big boys over the next 36 hours

Enlarge Image

Manitoba skip Jeff Stoughton isn’t looking much further than the next rock at the Tim Hortons Brier. (MIKE DEMBECK / THE CANADIAN PRESS )

HALIFAX -- The next 36 hours will determine if Jeff Stoughton is going to take the easy way to the playoffs or if he's going to need to crawl around in the muck a bit to reach the weekend.

Stoughton and Team Manitoba ran their Brier record to 4-1 on Monday with a 6-3 win over Serge Reid's Quebec club to put themselves in a comfortable spot near the halfway pole of the round-robin.

"I think we're starting to get more comfortable and everyone is getting their draw weight. The ice is really good and we're throwing some good peels and some good bumpers. We're getting used to the sweep because the ice is a little stickier than we would like," said Stoughton. "Are we happy at 4-1? Well, we'd like to be 5-0 but anyone can come up and bite you at any time here and that's what happened to us earlier. But yeah, we're 4-1 and we're happy with that."

There are no freebies at this level of curling, but for an outfit like Stoughton's there are some softer spots on the bingo card. So far, Team Manitoba has mostly taken care of the lesser lights put before them.

The tougher tasks loom on the horizon.

The rule of thumb at the 12-team round-robin Brier is that a record of 8-3 gets a team to the playoffs and if you slump to 7-4 you might get into a tie-breaker. Worse, and you spend the weekend in the Patch.

"You want to get to eight wins," said Stoughton. "That usually guarantees you a playoff spot. After that, you never know what can happen. So eight is good to get to."

Their 4-1 record may give Stoughton and Co. solid footing but the water is about to get faster and Stoughton will need to elevate his game to keep that loss column so tidy.

"We're at the stage of the week where teams should be comfortable with the ice and we should see lots of great shots. It's going to determine whether we're going to make the playoffs or if we're going to be scrambling to get into something," said Stoughton. "These are big games but the biggest right now for us is Tuesday morning. We can't look past that game."

Following a morning tangle with Yukon/Northwest Territories, it could be said Manitoba's Brier begins for real tonight with the first of three difficult games.

Stoughton faces Alberta's Kevin Koe in the late draw and then meets both Newfoundland's Brad Gushue and Ontario's Glenn Howard on Wednesday.

"For sure. You hate to go 0-3 against those guys because that can really put you down in the pack and you don't want that to happen," said Stoughton. "But we'll just take it one game at a time. Hopefully you win the first one and that makes the next easier and then if you can win again it makes the next one easier. It's a big run, those three games, and we'll have to play our best to get out of there. If we can get two wins out of those three games, that would be great, and three would be a bonus."

Howard remains the favourite at the 81st running of this event with Stoughton, Gushue and Koe in a pack just below him on the totem pole.

"Glenn is going good as expected. Koe had a hiccup, we've had a hiccup and Brad has too," said Stoughton. "But it's a long week ahead and who knows what is going to happen. You really have to just take it one game at a time. If you have to start looking for help on Thursday, that's what you do."

If Stoughton can navigate his way through the next 36 hours with some success, he'll have positioned himself well for a playoff berth.

Going 2-2 would be OK. Going 3-1, now that would have some shine on it. A perfect four wins? Book some time off this weekend, there will be curling to watch for Manitobans.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Brier in a box

Province (skip) W L

Ontario (G.Howard) 5 0

Manitoba (Stoughton) 4 1

Alberta (K.Koe) 4 1

N.L. (Gushue) 4 1

Northern Ont. (Jacobs) 3 2

Quebec (Reid) 3 2

B.C. (Richard) 2 3

Saskatchewan (McKee) 2 3

New Brunswick (Grattan) 2 3

P.E.I. (MacDonald) 1 4

N.S. (Fitzner-Leblanc) 0 5

NWT/Yukon (J.Koe) 0 5

Monday Results

Eighth Draw

Ontario 022 021 02x x -- 9

N.S. (Fitzner-Leblanc) 100 100 10x x -- 3

------

P.E.I. (MacDonald) 010 010 100 x -- 3

N.L. (Gushue) 100 102 021 x -- 7

------

Quebec (Reid) 010 301 010 2 -- 8

B.C. (Richard) 002 010 202 0 -- 7

------

Alberta (K.Koe) 020 103 03x x -- 9

Saskatchewan (McKee) 201 010 10x x -- 5

Seventh Draw

Northern Ont. (Jacobs) 030 210 010 x -- 7

Saskatchewan (McKee) 102 002 001 x -- 6

------

Ontario (G.Howard) 020 101 030 x -- 7

New Brunswick (Grattan) 100 010 101 x -- 4

------

NWT/Yukon (J.Koe) 001 002 0xx x -- 3

P.E.I. (MacDonald) 110 220 3xx x -- 9

------

Manitoba (Stoughton) 002 022 0xx x -- 6

Quebec (Reid) 100 100 1xx x -- 3

Sixth Draw

B.C. (Richard) 202 000 102 x -- 7

Alberta (K.Koe) 020 020 010 x -- 5

------

N.S. (Fitzner-Leblanc) 010 200 0xx x -- 3

N.L. (Gushue) 202 021 3xx x -- 10

Today's Games

Ninth Draw, 8:30 a.m.

Yukon/Northwest Terr. vs. Manitoba; Saskatchewan vs. Quebec; Northern Ontario vs. New Brunswick; Ontario vs. Prince Edward Island.

Draw 10, 1 p.m.

Quebec vs. Prince Edward Island; Alberta vs. Nova Scotia; Ontario vs. Saskatchewan; British Columbia vs. Newfoundland & Labrador.

Draw 11, 5:30 p.m.

New Brunswick vs. Newfoundland & Labrador; Northern Ontario vs. British Columbia; Manitoba vs. Alberta; Nova Scotia vs Yukon/Northwest Terr.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 9, 2010 B6