New Koe crew having some fun, focused on winning

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/03/2021 (1954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE novelty of its reconfiguration hasn’t worn off and, in fact, is energizing Kevin Koe’s crew at the 2021 Brier in Calgary.

Team Wild Card 2 has picked off opponents one by one this week in assertive fashion, positioning itself nicely for the upcoming championship round and a drive to the playoffs at the Canadian men’s curling championship.

The Koe squad from Calgary’s Glencoe Club posted its sixth consecutive victory Wednesday morning, blasting Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone 9-2 in eight ends, and carried an unbeaten record up against Ontario’s John Epping in the late draw in Pool B.

“Obviously, that was a big win for us. Six wins is still miles away from where we need to be. It sounds stupid but the longer we go without losing, the better we are, especially if we can knock off some of the good teams,” said Koe, 46, gunning for a record fifth Brier title as a skip. “We’ve obviously put ourselves in a good spot.

“To be honest, we had high expectations (coming in) because we had three weeks of awesome practise, individually, and as a team… we had high expectations, and they’re definitely not going to get any lower now.”

Koe captured the Brier title in 2019 in Brandon and returned as Team Canada in ’20 in Kingston, Ont., but stumbled near the end of the round robin, lost a tiebreaker and was absent from the playoff picture, necessitating changes to the roster.

Team second Colton Flash was given the heave-ho, and was immediately replaced by two-time Olympic gold-medallist and three-time Canadian champion John Morris. In a move made concurrently with the brilliant free-agent acquisition, third B.J. Neufeld of Winnipeg agreed to relinquish his duties holding the broom for Koe.

Morris and Koe were united in the house for most of the critical thinking, Neufeld continued to toss the fifth and sixth rocks of the end, while perennial all-star Ben Hebert led things off.

But the COVID-19 pandemic altered the 2020-21 season considerably, offering the new alignment no real opportunity to generate any momentum or results — until now in the fan-free bubble at WinSport Arena.

“Kevin and Ben have played together for quite some time now, it’s only my third year with Kevin and Ben, and my first time with John, so there’s a ton of newness with this group. And I think that newness definitely brings excitement to the team,” said Neufeld, 35, who was aligned with Mike McEwen for a decade until after the 2017-18 campaign. “We’re gelling really good. It’s a great mix of personalities and abilities, and we’re having some fun out there, too.”

Morris and Koe played together for three years in the early 2000s with limited success on the cash bonspiel circuit but none at all at the Alberta provincials.

Both produced monster rescues in subsequent seasons over a decade and a half.

Koe is a two-time world champion and also represented Canada — but missed the podium — at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Morris, meanwhile, triumphed with teammate Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg in mixed doubles at the Games in ‘18, eight years after seizing his first gold medal with Kevin Martin’s men’s foursome in Vancouver.

Morris, who also had a couple of stints curling with B.C.’s Jim Cotter, said he absolutely loves the feel and fit of his current gang.

“I’ve got a ton of respect for Kevin and everything he’s done. Kevin’s the type of player that looks like he gets better with age,” said Winnipeg-born Morris, 42. “I get the question a ton, ‘What kind of guy is Kevin?’ To me, he’s just a natural leader, and that’s one dynamic that changed on our team because I was a skip before, I had to be that guy in the early 2000s.

“The bottom line is we just want to win, the team dynamic is wonderful and it’s been a seamless fit. It feels great to be playing together again.”

Neufeld has been a key contributor this week, registering an 89 per cent shooting accuracy (prior to the evening matchup with Epping) to lead all thirds in the 18-team field.

His knowledge and insight has also been utilized repeatedly by Koe and Morris during strategy conversations, a role he relishes. But he said a meeting of the minds — particularly when Hebert is also leaned on for his vast experience — comes with a price.

“It has its challenges in that for the most part we’re exhausting most of the time we’re allotted in most games, just because there’s a lot of thoughts out there,” Neufeld said. “We can’t be getting together talking about strategy too much, otherwise, we’re always going to be facing that time pressure.

“At the same time, it’s good to know everyone’s thoughts are valid and could be game changing. So, we know we’re going to be making the right call 95 per cent of the time.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell