McEwen opens Brier with win

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This article was published 04/03/2017 (3208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Athletes always say they focus on their own game, paying little attention to the work of the opposition.

Well, curlers at the 2017 Brier clued in to some valuable information Saturday afternoon.

Here, keeping tabs on the guys a few sheets over could be the difference between making or mutilating a critical shot at the Canadian men’s curling championship.

It’s the Gushue factor. And it’s a real thing.

Just ask Mike McEwen, who battled some early nerves, a game Saskatchewan squad and ear-splitting noise from a boisterous capacity crowd at Mile One Centre to secure a victory in the opening draw of the nine-day event.

McEwen’s team from Winnipeg’s Fort Rouge club used the hammer to post clutch deuces in the fourth and sixth ends en route to a 6-5 win over Adam Casey’s Regina foursome before about 6,000 fans at the downtown arena.

Not many eyes were fixed on the tidy game between two Prairie rivals.

Just a sheet over, hometown favourite Brad Gushue sent fans into a frenzy with every guard, open hit or cool draw executed as Newfoundland-Labrador registered an emotion-filled triumph, downing Brier rookie Brendan Bottcher of Alberta by an 8-6 count.

McEwen said the crowd factor will have to be managed all week when Gushue’s on the same draw.

“Geez, it was so loud. I thought it was the final today,” he said.

“It was deafening. So, there were a couple of times when my guys said, ‘Hey, let’s hold on here because if Brad makes his shot they’re gonna go nuts.’ And he did, and you couldn’t hear anything. That could be important, especially if you’re communicating line and sweeping, and Newfoundland makes a great shot. You might make a mistake and not hear each other.

“It might be easier playing Brad because then you know when the applause is coming.”

He’ll find out this morning.

McEwen and Gushue, a 2006 Olympic gold medallist but still searching for his first Canadian men’s title after 13 s tries, hook up in the first draw of the day (7:30 a.m. CT). McEwen’s team of third B.J. Neufeld, second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld then faces Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories in the evening draw.

Playing in his second straight Canadian championship, McEwen said nothing — not even his Brier debut in Ottawa a year ago — could have prepared him for Saturday’s decibel and distraction levels.

“The opening ceremonies, we’re all lined up and everybody got great applause coming out. And then (Team Newfoundland-Labrador) came out and it was electric in there. I actually got adrenaline shivers,” he said.

“I don’t think I’ve felt like that in a long time.

“As far as playing in a building with this atmosphere, there’s a heck of a lot of the field that cannot say they’ve experienced that. It’s the perfect-sized building to be packed and have that deafening loudness. If this is any indication what the week’s going to be like, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

If the loudest cheer of the day occurred when Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant, lead Geoff Walker and veteran coach Jules Owchar were piped into the arena for the opening ceremonies, call the reaction, rightly or wrongly, to a crucial eighth-end miss by Bottcher a close second.

He ticked a guard with his last rock, giving Gushue an easy draw for three and an 8-5 lead.

Misses will, most assuredly, be wildly cheered when they benefit the boys from the Rock.

“It’s the Brier and you’re playing the hometown team. It’s something you’ve got to be prepared for. I’ve dealt with it 13 times when you play a hometown team and you miss a big shot, usually there’s a cheer,” Gushue said. “I don’t blame the crowd. I think it’s great for the sport. I want to see them excited.”

Gushue said after a terrific opening ceremonies — highlighted by tributes to his 2006 Olympic team of Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam, and to Jack MacDuff’s 1976 team, the last Newfoundland-Labrador foursome to win a Brier — throwing his pair of red rocks in the first end wasn’t easy.

“Those were tough, just because the adrenaline was pumping, there was some emotion there, the legs were shaking, the hand was shaking and I’ve thrown enough that I just had to trust it,” he said.

“I’ve never felt that nervous. I was just glad I got those first two out of the way.

“It was a great experience. It was a fun day. I was trying to stay in the moment, but there were times I let myself go, and I looked up at the crowd and saw all the crowds and the cheering.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @WFPJasonBell