Defending Brier champion Gushue, McEwen and Jacobs clinch playoff spots

Gregory Strong · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 05, 2025 4:15 PM EST | Last Updated: March 6

Three-time defending champion Brad Gushue is picking up wherever helium near disconnected astatine the Brier.

His St. John's-based squad was the archetypal to unafraid a playoff berth with a 7-6 triumph implicit Alberta's Kevin Koe connected Wednesday astatine Prospera Place successful Kelowna, B.C.

Two different playoff spots were booked aboriginal successful the day. Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen (7-0) locked up a spot with a 7-2 triumph implicit Rylan Kleiter and Alberta's Brad Jacobs (6-0) did the aforesaid with an 11-5 rout of Ontario's Sam Mooibroek.

In the evening, Reid Carruthers (6-2) missed a accidental to unafraid a berth erstwhile helium dropped an 8-6 determination to Matt Dunstone successful an all-Manitoba battle. Dunstone (6-1) broke unfastened a adjacent crippled with a four-ender successful the eighth.

"Giving 4 points to a squad similar that, you're successful large trouble," Carruthers said. "It was a consecutive spot and I was a small spot wide connected my propulsion and conscionable got crucified."

Northern Ontario's John Epping (5-2) was successful 4th spot successful Pool A aft posting a 9-6 triumph implicit Newfoundland and Labrador's Ty Dilello. The apical 3 teams successful each excavation astatine the extremity of round-robin play Thursday nighttime volition marque the cut.

After McEwen and Jacobs, 4 rinks — Kleiter, Mooibroek, Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell and Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard — were tied for 3rd spot successful Pool B astatine 3-3.

Koe pushed Koe hard, taking vantage of a Gushue miss successful the 10th extremity to people a deuce and unit an other end. The Calgary skip was a small wide with his last gully into a crowded location and the teams shook hands.

"We kept our composure," Gushue said. "When rocks didn't crook out, we didn't get negative."

'Frustrating' for Koe to miss playoff cut

Gushue, who besides defeated Nunavut's Shane Latimer 12-3 to determination to 7-0, is trying to triumph the nationalist men's curling title for a grounds seventh time. He'll adjacent retired his round-robin docket Thursday against Dunstone with archetypal spot successful Pool A connected the line.

It's the 2nd consecutive twelvemonth that Koe (3-4), a four-time Brier champion, volition miss the playoff cut.

"It's frustrating," helium said. "Last year, we were conscionable brutal and we lost. This year, we played rather good and we could person won a fewer [more] games. Any clip you suffer astatine the Brier it's [tough]."

Koe bushed New Brunswick's James Grattan 10-4 successful the evening.

"We consciousness similar we should beryllium a playoff squad but there's going to beryllium 2 bully teams successful our excavation that don't get there," Koe said. "Not to disrespect anyone else, but we're 1 of them.

"We really played good but it's a good enactment erstwhile you're playing the champion teams and we person conscionable been somewhat off."

Purcell edged Menard 7-6 and Prince Edward Island's Tyler Smith topped Aaron Bartling of the Northwest Territories 10-5.

The Dunstone-Carruthers matchup had immoderate added foodstuff with 3rd B.J. Neufeld gathering his erstwhile teammates aft they parted ways with him successful December. E.J. Harnden aboriginal joined the Dunstone squad aft his mid-season departure from Gushue's rink.

"It was a small unusual evidently conscionable fixed the newness of the past fewer months," Dunstone said. "But three-quarters of that squad is erstwhile teammates of mine. So, it was conscionable a small spot antithetic fixed the circumstances of this season."

Qualification games are acceptable for Friday up of the Page playoffs. The last volition beryllium played Sunday night.

The Brier victor volition correspond Canada astatine the BKT satellite men's curling title starting March 29 successful Moose Jaw, Sask.

Rachel Homan won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts past period successful Thunder Bay, Ont. Her Ottawa-based squad volition deterioration the Maple Leaf astatine the women's satellite playdowns starting March 15 successful Uijeongbu, South Korea.