Gunnlaugson staggers into Brier playdowns

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/03/2021 (1821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Team Manitoba has hit the skids at the Brier but can trigger a reversal of fortune Friday afternoon.

Jason Gunnlaugson’s team staggered into the ’round of eight’ after absorbing three consecutive losses at the Canadian men’s curling championship at WinSport Arena in Calgary. 

The most recent setback was administered by living legend Wayne Middaugh, whose Wild Card 3 crew posted a 10th-end deuce to edge the Morris-based squad 5-4 on the late draw Thursday.

Gunnlaugson faced two opposition stones buried in the four-foot and tried unsuccessfully to glance off a corner guard and carom into the pile.

Middaugh, filling in for Glenn Howard, wrapped up Pool A round-robin play with 7-1 record after rattling off five straight wins, while Gunnlaugson dropped to 5-3, an identical record to Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario. Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher (6-2) also qualified.

Four surviving teams from each of pools A and B cross over and play teams from the opposite pool Friday and Saturday. From there, the top three vault into the Sunday playoffs.

Gunnlaugson, supported by third Adam Casey, second Matt Wozniak and lead Connor Njegovan, said the team would do a short de-brief at the hotel and then get a decent sleep before the next stage of the Brier begins at 1:30 p.m.

Manitoba opens against Ontario’s John Epping and then plays Team Canada’s Brad Gushue at 7:30 p.m.

“We have to come out and play a little bit sharper. We’re playing some high-quality curling, but things did not go our way (Thursday) in either of our games,” said Gunnlaugson, 36. “We had some good chances but just not finishing the ends. We’ll get there.

“The way we got in (to the championship round) feels horrible but we gotta be pretty proud. We just have to play really well because the teams we play are really good, so we have to be sharp.”

On Saturday, Gunnlaugson faces Kevin Koe’s Wild Card 2 team and Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone.

Earlier Thursday, Gunnlaugson fell 7-4 to B.C.’s Steve Laycock, missing a last-rock circus shot with the time clock down to half a minute. 

Manitoba blazed to a 5-0 start at the Brier before faltering on the late in the week.

Meanwhile, in a tense evening matchup, Bottcher made a brilliant double-raise takeout to score three and defeat Laycock 7-5 well after the other three sheets had been vacated.

The game was delayed in the sixth end after Laycock inadvertently damaged the ice when he slammed his broom down after a miss. The divot was fixed and play resumed after about 40 minutes, with Alberta down 3-2. Laycock faces a fine from Curling Canada.

Indeed, Bottcher, third Darren Moulding, second Brad Thiessen and lead Karrick Martin demonstrated some resilience under trying circumstances in a key game to enhance their record.

“It’s tough because you get up for these games, you’re rolling, feeling good. We felt we played a great first half. And then especially midway through the end to have to stop like that was a little bit tricky but the guys rebounded well,” said Bottcher.

“It’s hard to win when there’s a little bit of adversity and I think we battled.”

Moulding admitted he’s had his own regrettable on-ice displays of frustration over the years, so he was quick to let Laycock off the hook.

“I’ve been there before, so it’d be pretty hypocritical for me to hold ill will. It wasn’t even an intentional act. It was unlucky, if you ask me,” he said. “People whack there brooms all the time. The head flipped on him and did a little bit of damage. I’ve done it whole bunch and there’s other guys who’ve done it, you just don’t pay the price that he had to pay.

“Over my curling career, I’ve had trouble with (temper), especially when I was younger. I broke my broom at the Olympic Trials, and it was pretty embarrassing. I’m not a bad guy, it’s just people get emotional. Steve wants to win. People want to win.”

James Grattan of New Brunswick’s bid for a tie-breaker spot ruined with a shocking 10-6 loss to Greg Skauge of Northwest Territories on the late draw.

Manitoba’s Mike McEwen posted a pair of victories to upgrade his record to 4-4 in Pool A. But batting .500 at a Brier this top-heavy with talent got teams nothing but an early exit from the bubble.

The Wild Card 1 squad slammed Skauge 12-3 in the morning and then dumped Yukon’s Ray Mikkelsen 14-2.

Koe’s crew from Calgary carts the best record (7-1) into the championship round. Koe, who has hoisted the trophy four-time champion since 2010, eliminated Quebec’s Michael Fournier (4-4) with a 10-5 victory in the afternoon draw.

Dunstone made a double-kill with his last rock to close out a 7-5 victory over Nova Scotia in the afternoon, propelling his Saskatchewan team ahead at 6-2, identical to the records of Gushue and Epping. 

“It’s great when you’re faced with stuff like that. It builds character on the team and I’m proud of the guys and how we handled that,” said Dunstone, who lost the 2020 Brier semifinal in Kingston, Ont., to Gushue.

Saskatchewan was thumped 9-2 by Koe on Wednesday morning but bounced back with a pair of strong outings.

“After that Koe game, that’s where the focus turned to, ‘Let’s close this thing out 6-2 and put ourselves in the driver’s seat.’ We still control our own destiny heading into the next round and that’s the spot you want to be in,” added Dunstone. “We’re in a really nice mindset right now and feeling really good as a unit.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell