Big names coming out to play as Brier heats up

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This article was published 08/03/2019 (2728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — It’s simple Brier 2019 economics: The gap between the have and have-nots is widening here.

Kevin Koe, Brad Jacobs and Brad Gushue continue to separate themselves from the rest of the “great eight” at the Canadian men’s curling championship. Koe is a perfect 9-0, while Jacobs and Gushue each has eight victories and a lone defeat.

The good money was on that happening, well before the rock star took the stage at Brandon’s Westoba Place. The trio of skips has won five of the last six Tankard trophies.

Koe, skipping Team Alberta, literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat Thursday morning, launching a stick of dynamite down Sheet B to blast out Team Wild-Card’s shot rock score for a 7-6 win over Brendan Bottcher.

In the late draw, Koe came through late yet again, delivering his final stone to the four-foot for a clutch 10th-end deuce and a 6-5 triumph over Manitoba’s Mike McEwen.

Jacobs split a pair of games, hammering B.C.’s Jim Cotter 11-5 before falling 7-6 in an extra-end to provincial counterpart, Scott McDonald of Ontario (6-3).

Gushue, meanwhile, doubled up on McEwen 6-3 and then pinned an 8-4 loss on Saskatchewan’s Kirk Muyres.

Down by a pair, Koe had three rocks jammed behind a corner guard and another in the 12-foot. Bottcher played a near-perfect freeze, but left enough peeking out for the three-time former Brier champion to take a run at it.

“We’re very happy, especially winning like that. We couldn’t ask for any more, especially beating Gushue and Bottcher, which are couple of top teams. This puts us in a good spot. If we can we can win one or two (more), we’re probably in the (Page playoff) 1-2 game,” Koe said.

Bottcher rebounded at night with an 8-3 victory over Cotter to up his record to 7-2, good for fourth place. Only four teams advance to the Page playoffs, beginning Saturday.

Koe said he’s impressed with the mental toughness of Bottcher, the 2018 runner-up to Gushue in Regina.

“He’s not afraid of having a big shot and making it, or taking the chance when it presents itself. He’s only going to get better, he’s still young and, hopefully, he doesn’t get to be his best for a few more years.”

Meanwhile, members of the Jacobs and crew should each be wearing tailored Armani, because this is a business trip for these guys.

The bravado of past seasons has been replaced by a stoic resolve to get the job done in western Manitoba, six years after their first and only Brier crown and five years post-everlasting Olympic glory.

Jacobs made a nose hit that resulted in a mammoth count of five against Cotter in the afternoon, turned and casually walked to rear of the house to chat with coach Adam Kingsbury.

Outwardly, he’s demonstrating little emotion this week, yet the 33-year-old vows he’s having a blast in Brandon.

“Right now… feeling good and having a lot of fun,” Jacobs said. “This is the exciting time, thrilled to be in the championship pool, play against some familiar faces and really get this thing into the stressful part of the week. We welcome any setbacks, any challenges, any adversity this week. We hope that they come our way, in all honesty.

“In my mind right now, we can’t fail.”

The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team did stumble in the evening against McDonald, falling behind 5-1 before making a game of it.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell