Gunnlaugson is Brier bound after knocking off McEwen 7-4 at Viterra final

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This article was published 09/02/2020 (2072 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jason Gunnlaugson had been many things during his competitive curling career but never a provincial men’s champion — until now.

The man affectionately known as “Gunner” guided his team to a 7-4 victory over defending champion Mike McEwen in the 2020 Viterra final Sunday afternoon at Eric Coy Arena in Charleswood.

Gunnlaugson’s winning squad includes third Alex Forrest, second Adam Casey and lead Connor Njegovan. The team out of the Morris Curling Club jumped out to a 4-0 lead after four ends and then held off the event’s top seed.

The crew will flash the buffalo crest at the Brier national playdown, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 29 to Sunday, March 8 at the 5,700-seat Leon’s Centre in Kingston, Ont.

“It’s just fantastic,” said Gunnlaugson, just minutes after he slashed away a yellow McEwen counter in the 10th end. “So excited, so happy, so much work, so much everything. It’s just amazing. We’re going to  have one heck of a party here the next day and a half.

“There were a lot of years where I didn’t have the focus that I’ve had the last few years. Being with guys who love to curl and have given me every opportunity to figure it out,was what I needed. It took a long time. There’s a lot of good skips who never win anything until they’re about 35 and then they figure it out. Maybe it’s just an age thing, but I am so happy,” he said. 

The popular but mercurial athlete, a skilled strategist and rock-thrower who still looks young enough to get carded at local water holes, has been part of several top-flight Manitoba and B.C. teams, as a skip or third, over the years. He even had a strange alignment with Russian officials for a few months in an attempt to win gold at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

Three seasons ago, he was, effectively, a free agent with limited prospects in Winnipeg, but Forrest and Njegovan came calling. Casey, a Maritimer with a glitzy curling resume, was added to the mix last spring and the rest, as they say, is history.

“It came together because we’ve assembled a great group of guys. Connor and Alex stuck with me. I was cut, I was on an island in curling, with no real purpose. They picked me up and they’ve just stuck with me and have given me the chance to become an elite skip. I think with this performance we can finally say that maybe I’m getting there,” said a clearly emotional Gunnlaugson, who won on his 12th try at the provincials.

“I was without a team. I got into a spring mixup and had no team about three years ago. Matt Dunstone had left to go play with (Steve) Laycock (of Saskatchewan), so I was a free agent and they didn’t have a skip, so they got me on board. They love playing and I love playing, and we just played and played and played until we won the buffalo.”

Appearing slightly dazed just moments after the trophy presentation, Njegovan said he’s living out a childhood dream.

“I’ve dreamed of going to the Brier my entire life,” said Njegovan. “I remember being a kid and watching the Brier in Winnipeg.

“We work so hard and we travel and we curl. We miss family and we miss birthdays. We miss all sorts of stuff to just put in the work for, hopefully, something like this to happen one day, and it feels so good.”

McEwen gets a valuable parting gift, a spot in the wild-card contest on the eve of the Brier. His West St. Paul foursome of third Reid Carruthers, second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson will meet Ontario veteran Glenn Howard with a last chance to slide in as the 16th team.

McEwen is fourth on the Canadian Team Ranking System. But the teams above — Brad Jacobs (Northern Ontario), John Epping (Ontario) and Brad Gushue (Newfoundland-Labrador) — already have their Kingston spots booked. Brendan Bottcher captured the Alberta title Sunday night, opening the door for Howard.

Interestingly, McEwen and Gunnlaugson met in the first-ever wild-card contest in Regina in 2018, with McEwen prevailing to join his back-end ‘mate, Carruthers, the Manitoba champ that year, in the Brier field.

“It’s not fun. (We’re) happy that we do have that chance… but that’s just as gut-wrenching a game as this one. So we really wanted to win this one and not be in that situation again,” said McEwen. “But thank goodness we’ve got one more chance.”

McEwen has lost three times to Gunnlaugson during the 2019-20 campaign, including twice in the final 24 hours of the Viterra. On Saturday evening, Gunnlaugson posted a 7-3 win to grab a pass to the final, while McEwen fell into the semifinal and downed Sean Grassie of Deer Lodge 7-3 Sunday morning.

“Jason look more comfortable than I’ve ever seen him in a Manitoba provincial,” offered McEwen. “And he made some big shots.”

The final had a similar feel to their previous matchup, with rock clusters on multiple ends and McEwen left to attempt difficult draws and low-percentage long angle-raises The three-time provincial champion struggled with draw weight for much of the 10-end affair. 

In the third end, Gunnlaugson buried his final stone on the button to sit two. McEwen needed to follow it down to either score one or at least lessen the damage but came up way light to surrender a huge steal of two and trail 3-0.

After giving up another steal in the fourth end, McEwen stormed back with a huge count of three to tighten the gap at the midway point, making Gunnlaugson’s crew pay for some uncharacteristic misses. Down 5-3 in the eighth McEwen was gifted an opportunity for a pair but his open draw stopped well short of the rings and scored only one.

“It’s too bad. It could have been a barn-burner finish there. The ice ate up that draw, and it felt pretty good out of the hand and it ended up half way,” said McEwen. “Unfortunately, the vets today didn’t quite manage the ice as good as the slightly younger team.”

In the ninth, Gunnlaugson, up 5-4 with hammer, drew for a deuce, and then with some trouble brewing managed to annihilate a couple of problem stones in the 10th to seal the deal.

“It was really awesome to get those last rocks out of there and know that it’s over,” said Forrest. “It was getting a little nerve-wracking but made a great one with his first. It was awesome.”

Gunnlaugson now owns the same title as his late grandfather, Lloyd Gunnlaugson, who won a Manitoba men’s title in 1983 to go along with three Canadian senior men’s crowns.

“I might need to process. I’m sure my granny (Jeannette) is pretty happy that we won,” he said. “She’s definitely my biggest fan ever. I’m sure she appreciates it even more than I do at this moment.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell