McEwen drills Ontario’s Howard at Brier to notch first win

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 11:22 AM CST Sunday, Mar. 6, 2016

OTTAWA -- Mike McEwen has his first ever win at the Brier.

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OTTAWA -- Mike McEwen has his first ever win at the Brier.

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This article was published 06/03/2016 (3812 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Mike McEwen has his first ever win at the Brier.

The Winnipeg skip drilled local favorite Glenn Howard of Ontario 6-2 on the morning draw here at the Tim Hortons Brier Sunday morning to improve his rookie foursome’s round-robin record to 1-1.

So how does it feel to win your first game after a lifetime of trying the get to this event, the 35-year-old McEwen was asked?

Michael Burns Jr. / Winnipeg Free Press
Mike McEwan and his team shot 95 per cent in the win over Ontario this morning. — Michael Burns Jr. / Winnipeg Free Press Mike McEwan and his team shot 95 per cent in the win over Ontario this morning.

“That might be my first win at the Brier,” replied McEwen, “but I’m hoping my last win here is more important.”

Howard said it’s that kind of quiet confidence that makes the McEwen team very different than your average Brier rookies.

“They’re not Brier rookies. They’re just a damn good team,” said Howard. “And I expected that. I didn’t think there’d be any jitters at all and you sure don’t see it.”

It shows in the blistering hot shooting percentages the Manitoba foursome has put up in their first two games. After shooting 93 per cent in a loss Saturday to Newfoundland, Manitoba shot 95 per cent in the win over Ontario.

Put it all together and Manitoba coach — and two time Brier champion — Jon Mead said he has very quickly made peace with the fact that he’s going to be a spectator over the coming week rather than a participant.

“Watching these guys the past two days, I don’t miss curling a bit. I don’t think I could keep up,” said Mead, who was widely regarded as one of the premier thirds in the game when he played with Manitoba legend Jeff Stoughton.

McEwen broke open a tight game against Ontario with a deuce in the fifth end that sent Manitoba into the break with a 3-1 lead.

But it was a costly miscue by Howard in the seventh end that sealed the deal. With Manitoba lying three, Howard sailed his last rock through the back of the house to hand McEwen a rare steal of three.

So what happened on that draw, Howard was asked afterward. “I had a little brain fart,” said Howard. “I overthrew it. End of story. I missed it badly.”

McEwen has Sunday afternoon off before his squad — third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld — return to the ice here Sunday evening against New Brunswick. Manitoba plays just once on Monday, taking on Alberta’s Kevin Koe Monday evening.

email: paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek