Manitoba still rockin’ on The Rock

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/03/2017 (3368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — There’s an efficiency to Mike McEwen’s game right now — reminiscent of a recent performance much closer to home.

The Manitoba skip and his Winnipeg teammates have been confident with their decisions and meticulous in their execution after two days at the Canadian men’s curling championship.

That translates to a perfect 3-0 record heading into today’s play at the 2017 Brier.

“That’s what we were hoping for after the first couple of days,” McEwen said Sunday evening, following a pair of victories. “Everything’s going according to plan. A lot of good quality throws out there. We’re able to complete ends, jump on mistakes of opponents, and our defence has been really good.”

He said the team’s level of consistency and finish here is similar to the way it dispatched of teams with relative ease at the provincials in Portage la Prairie three weeks ago, until they ran into Reid Carruthers a couple of times — beating him in the Viterra final.

“I don’t think we gave up a deuce in the provincials until we played Carruthers (in the first Page playoff game),” he said. “We were very efficient, able to read the surface well, had a good handle on the ice. We’re feeling pretty comfortable with that in this building, too.

“Everybody out here knows there’s bound to be a bump or two in the road, and we’re prepared for that, too.”

Team Manitoba was public enemy No. 1 here Sunday morning, spoiling the start to the day for thousands of curling fans at Mile One Centre after pinning an 8-4 loss on home-town favourite Brad Gushue of Newfoundland-Labrador in a contest with plenty of rocks in play.

On the evening draw, McEwen, with third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld, followed up with a relatively clean, problem-free 6-2 triumph over Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories.

Manitoba and Jamie’s brother, Team Canada’s Kevin Koe (3-0), are the only unbeaten squads left after just five draws.

B.J. Neufeld said the team is as tight-knit as its ever been, and that dynamic is producing positive results.

“I think we’re all really supportive of each other, and that’s so big. We have each others’ backs, with the misses and the makes, and that makes it easy when the dynamic is good and if you miss, no one’s gonna lose it out there,” he said.

No question, Manitoba seems ahead of most of the pack in figuring out the characteristics of this arena ice

“That’s huge to get a grasp of the ice at the beginning of the week,” he said. “It’s such an asset. You’re not fighting your mechanics, your release, at all when you’re trusting the ice. You see the broom at the other end, you just hit it. You don’t think about too much else. Mike is doing a great job of mapping out the sheets, and getting the broom in the right spot for us.”

Two draws are scheduled for today, and Manitoba only test comes against Brendan Bottcher of Alberta at 5:30 p.m. The Edmonton team is off to an 0-3 start in its Brier debut.

The downtown arena holds nearly 5,600 people for curling and there weren’t many vacant seats for the early draw Sunday. These folks adore Gushue and his team of third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker, and show their support by celebrating good shots by the hosts while cheering miscues by the opposition with the same rambunctiousness.

McEwen heard the roars after missing a shot in the first end to surrender a steal of one, followed by thunderous applause after a botched attempt by B.J. in the third end that led to a deuce and a 3-2 advantage for Newfoundland-Labrador.

“A couple in the first few ends, it was like, ‘Whew, that feels a bit strange.’ But I had to chuckle. I know they’re a true sports crowd and they’re going to cheer for anything that’s good for their team, and we’re totally comfortable with that,” said McEwen, 36. “It was nice that we were able to quiet the crowd for the good part of the game after that.”

McEwen blanked the fourth end and then posted a deuce in the fifth end to move ahead 4-3, a lead the Winnipeggers would not relinquish.

Gushue was heavy on a draw in the sixth to give up a steal and trail 5-3, but then executed a terrific double-takeout to score one in the seventh. But two failed freezes by Gallant and Nichols put Newfoundland-Labrador in a world of hurt, and eventually McEwen used his last rock to chip off his own stone, roll over and remove a yellow rock to count three.

Gushue rebounded in the late draw with a 5-4 win over Mike Kennedy of New Brunswick (1-2).

“It was a pretty sloppy today, so to come out (with a 2-1 record) is good, we’re in good position. But we gotta figure out what we’re doing and come out sharper the rest of the week,” said Gushue. “I think we’re still feeling out the ice and feeling out the emotions that go with all this. You’re trying to put your blinders on but you also want to enjoy the moment and be able to remember it, too, in 20 years.”

On the final shot of the night, Kevin Koe made a short raise-takeout for a deuce in the 10th end to defeat Ontario’s Glenn Howard 5-4 and maintain a perfect record. The defending champions never held a lead until the skip’s final toss.

“Character win for sure. We just hung in there until that last one was thrown,” said Kevin Koe, who has started with three victories over former Brier champions, including Howard, Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs (2-1) and Jean-Michel Menard of Quebec (1-2). “We’ve played a lot of good teams already. It just goes to show you there are no easy games out here, for sure.”

Saskatchewan’s Adam Casey and Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy are also 2-1, while Howard and B.C.’s John Morris join a group at 1-2.

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell