REGINA, SK – Brad Gushue took another big step in defending his Canadian men’s curling championship Friday with a crucial win in the Page 1-2 qualifier games at the Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI. Gushue, skipping Team Canada (St. John’s), shaded Team Manitoba-Carruthers (Winnipeg), skipped by Brad Jacobs, 9-7 at the Brandt Centre.
Team Canada, looking for its third national title in a row, will now face Team Alberta-Bottcher (Calgary), skipped by Brendan Bottcher, in the Page 1-2 game Saturday night. Team Alberta-Bottcher punched its ticket to the 1-2 game with a 9-7 win over skip Mike McEwen’s Team Saskatchewan (Saskatoon).
The winner of that game goes to Sunday’s gold-medal final, while the loser will drop to Sunday’s semifinal.
The two losing teams, which had captured the No. 1 positions after play in Pools A and B, had to gather themselves quickly to face opponents later in the evening in the Page 3-4 qualifiers. Team Manitoba-Carruthers has a date against Team Manitoba-Dunstone, skipped by Matt Dunstone, of Winnipeg, while Team Saskatchewan squares off against Team Northwest Territories, skipped by Jamie Koe (Yellowknife).
UPCOMING
Losers of those games will be eliminated, while the winners will play in the Page 3-4 game on Saturday afternoon.
Page 1-2 Playoff: Saturday, March 9, 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
• Canada vs. Alberta (Bottcher)
Winner advances to the final. Loser goes to the semifinal.
Semifinal: Sunday, March 10, 2 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. MT
• TBD
Final: Sunday, March 10, 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. MT
• TBD
