Manitoba wins meaningless game on way to playoffs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/03/2016 (3794 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Manitoba’s Mike McEwen finished his first ever Brier round-robin on a winning note, defeating Prince Edward Island 8-3 Friday morning to finish 8-3.

The victory was meaningless in the standings to Manitoba, who clinched the fourth and final playoff spot on Thursday night and will face Alberta’s Kevin Koe, who finished third, Saturday afternoon.

Clinging to a 3-2 lead, Manitoba stole two in the fifth end when PEI skip Adam Casey was light on his last rock draw, putting McEwen in control of the game heading into the break.

McEwen now has his back to the wall, needing to win three sudden-death playoff games in a row this weekend — the 3-4 against Koe, the semifinal and the final — if he’s going to become the fourth skip in the last seven years to win a Brier title through the 3 vs. 4 game.

Jeff Stoughton won Manitoba’s last Canadian men’s curling championship in 2011.

The winner of Saturday afternoon’s 3-4 game will advance to Saturday night’s semifinal to face the loser of Friday night’s 1 vs. 2 game between Northern Ontario and Newfoundland (6:30 pm CT, TSN).

Those two teams faced each other on the final round-robin draw Friday morning, and Northern Ontario defeated Newfoundland 4-1 to finish a perfect 11-0 and win both the hammer and choice of rocks for the 1-2 game, where the winner advances directly to Sunday’s Brier final.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Warm-Up

Winnipeg Jets Game Days

On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.

Sign up for The Warm-Up

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue — who is trying to win Newfoundland its first Brier title since 1976 — finished 9-2 with the loss to Northern Ontario.

Meanwhile, the loss to Manitoba means PEI finishes last in the round-robin standings at 2-9 and will now have to play its way back into the Brier next year in the pre-event relegation round.

PEI will join Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Yukon in relegation, with just one of those four teams advancing to play in the 2017 Brier in St. John’s.

email: paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek