Manitoba improves to 3-2 at Brier

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This article was published 08/03/2016 (3667 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Manitoba’s Mike McEwen improved to 3-2 with a 5-4 extra end win over Northwest Territories here at the Tim Hortons Brier this morning.

McEwen drew paint with the final rock of the extra end to secure the victory in a strange game that saw Territories skip Jamie Koe adopt a conservative strategy in the second half of the match that seemed aimed at keeping the score close but not actually winning.

McEwen was delighted to get a win anyway he could, particularly after a lopsided 9-4 loss Monday night to Koe’s brother, Alberta skip Kevin Koe.

“There was a couple of times where (Koe) went in the rings at odd moments,” McEwen said of the win over the Territories. “They made lots of shots, but it was that kind of game where there were only a couple of moments where it was complicated… I thought we controlled most of the game.”

The win puts Manitoba into a three-way tie for the fourth and final playoff position with a critical game coming up tonight against Canada’s Pat Simmons, who is also 3-2.

McEwen insisted he’s not in a must-win position yet, but…

“It’s close. That’s a big game tonight,” said McEwen, who can recall only one previous meeting this season against Simmons.

“They clipped us in the Canada Cup in the round-robin.”

The story of this Brier continues to be Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs, who remains the only undefeated team in the field at 5-0 following a 6-2 win over Prince Edward Island Tuesday morning.

Alberta and Newfoundland are tied for second at 4-1, but those teams meet on the Tuesday afternoon draw.

email: paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek

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