No mixed feelings for Forrest

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This article was published 11/10/2021 (1456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Forrests stood tall Monday afternoon, casting a large shadow at the Manitoba mixed curling championship.

Alex Forrest skipped his Assiniboine Memorial foursome to a convincing 9-3 triumph over Sean Grassie of Deer Lodge in the provincial final to book a spot at the national championship next month in Canmore, Alta.

Indeed, it was a fabulous holiday gathering at the Granite Club for Forrest and his wife, D’Arcy, his brother, Tyler, and Tyler’s wife, Brandi.

“It’s an awesome Thanksgiving. We kind of threw the team together for something to do, thinking we’d have a chance, but didn’t have huge hopes or anything,” said. Forrest. “We got a few practices in and went for it.

“It’ll be a blast going to Canmore. It’s actually not too far away, so we’ll have to stay on the ice, I guess, instead of ending the competitive season now. It’s just super exciting to do it all together.”

The eight-day Canadian championship begins Nov. 7.

It’s Alex’s third provincial title, following a junior crown in 2010 and a men’s Viterra championship in 2020 while tossing third stones for Jason Gunnlaugson. Tyler now has added a mixed title to a resumé that includes a junior win in 2003.

Brandi and D’Arcy will make their debuts on the national stage in the charming mountain town.

“I don’t ever want to take this off, even though it doesn’t have my name on the back, yet,” said Brandi, brandishing her Team ‘Toba jacket. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve tried to do this since juniors and I never made it this far. My sister (Sara Oliver) won the mixed worlds (2019), so I’m following in her footsteps.”

Grassie, meanwhile, missed a chance to return to the nationals for the first time since 2014. He won Manitoba mixed titles in 1999, 2009, 2012 and 2014, seizing the national championship in 2009.

The two finalists finished a six-team round-robin with identical 4-1 records.

But Forrest fell to Grassie in the round-robin and had to battle through a Monday morning semi-final, edging Corey Chambers of Pembina 7-6 to set up the rematch.

In the final, Grassie bolted to a 3-0 lead through three ends before a seismic shift occurred in the fourth. Scrambling to get out of trouble, he missed a try for a double-takeout that handed Forrest a routine throw for a four-ender.

Steals of a pair in the fifth and three more in the sixth (when it looked like Grassie’s final rock picked) sealed the win for the Forrests.

“The ends come out of nowhere sometimes. It’s mixed and it’s the five-rock rule and it’s a roller-coaster,” said Alex, who stepped away from the Gunnlaugson men’s team after his Brier appearance in Kingston, Ont., to focus on family and work.

“It’s a lot of fun competing again. It’s a test to see if I could still do it again, or at least early in the season. I felt we were getting better every game. It was a lot of fun. I’ll be great wearing the buffalo again.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell