Manitoba’s Brier playoff hopes in danger

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 6:19 PM CST Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2015

CALGARY — Manitoba’s playoff hopes at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier are on life support.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

CALGARY — Manitoba’s playoff hopes at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier are on life support.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/03/2015 (4103 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — Manitoba’s playoff hopes at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier are on life support.

Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers saw his team’s record fall to 3-4 after a 7-4 loss to Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard at the Scotiabank Saddledome Wednesday afternoon.

The loss means Carruthers now needs to win his four remaining round-robin games — and get some help from the rest of the field — if he’s going to make the playoff round, which starts Friday evening.

Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Manitoba skip Reid Carruthers delivers a rock as his tem plays Northern Ontario during curling action at the Brier in Calgary, Tuesday. — Jeff McIntosh / THE CANADIAN PRESS Manitoba skip Reid Carruthers delivers a rock as his tem plays Northern Ontario during curling action at the Brier in Calgary, Tuesday.

It’s a tall order — and it begins with another tough game Wednesday night against B.C.’s Jim Cotter, who is 3-4 like Manitoba but has played better this week than his record might suggest.

“We’ve got to win out and we’ve got to play better,” said Carruthers. “This isn’t exactly how I drew it up. But we’re still alive. And we have to have a short memory for tonight because we’re playing another really tough team.”

With the loss to Quebec, Carruthers is now in a three-way tie for sixth place with Alberta and BC in an event in which only the top four teams make the playoffs.

And one of those playoff spots has already been clinched — Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs improved to 9-0 Wednesday and has now clinched the 1-2 game Friday night no matter what his team does in his final two round-robin games.

Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue is alone in second place at 7-2 thanks to a spectacular last rock 8-7 victory over Alberta’s Kevin Koe Wednesday afternoon in which Gushue authored a shot he later described as a “double-raised double around the horn something or other. I’m not even sure…

“I’m not going to lie — I think I’m a really good curler but I’m not going to make that too many times. One in 50 maybe, at best.”

Quebec’s Menard and Team Canada’s John Morris — who are 4-0 since moving third Pat Simmons up to skip — hold down the final two playoff spots at 6-3. Saskatchewan’s Steven Laycock is alone in fifth at 4-3, but has now lost two games in a row.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek