Wild Card ousts Team Canada from Brier

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This article was published 09/03/2019 (2118 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new champion will be crowned at the Tim Hortons Brier at Westoba Place on Sunday.

Two-time reigning champion Brad Gushue and his Team Canada foursome of Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker were eliminated from this year’s Canadian men’s curling championship with a 7-2 loss to Wild Card’s Brendan Bottcher in the 3-vs.-4 Page playoff game on Saturday afternoon.

“I feel good,” said Wild Card third Darren Moulding. “The team played well. It felt like we were pretty loose and relaxed. Got a little bit of a break in the second and took the edge off I think. After that, I thought we played excellent.”

The break in the second end was a costly pick for the defending champions from Newfoundland.

Gushue was trying a hit for two but his final stone was thrown off course when it ran over a pebble in the ice, resulting in a steal of one for Bottcher and his team that also includes Brad Thiessen and Karrick Martin.

Gushue said he saw snow pop up from the ice after his rock picked, and the three-point swing was huge as his team could have dictated play better with a 2-0 lead instead of feeling like it was chasing down 1-0.

“The pick was the story of the game,” Gushue said. “Getting two in the second end and you can really dictate play and control the game. When it flips and all of a sudden they have a one-point lead you feel like you’re chasing a little bit, especially under those circumstances. It’s really disappointing. It’s probably one of the top three or four worst breaks I’ve had in my career, but it happens. It’s kind of disappointing that the run ended on those terms. 

“We lost two games this week to Northern Ontario and Alberta where guys made incredible angle-raises to beat us. I’d sleep easier tonight if I’d been beaten that way as opposed to a rock on the ice, a piece of pebble.”

Wild Card benefited more than just on the scoreboard from the point. The team appeared more relaxed, and remained patient for the rest of the game. 

They got a force in the third end before taking one in the fifth end. Canada made it 2-2 in the sixth end before the teams blanked the seventh.

Gushue went hard for a steal in the eighth, but Moulding and Bottcher made them pay. Moulding made quiet taps on buried Canada stones with both of his shots.

Bottcher then made a similar shot with his first, but left his shooter on the lid. Gushue tried to freeze to cut Wild Card down to one but it hung out wide, allowing Bottcher a hit for four and complete control of the game.

“That’s my job. I have to back him up once in a while,” Moulding said. “It felt good to make those shots in eight. I sat in the hack it wasn’t a very big piece of the rock, but I knew it was a shot we needed to win the game. I wanted to take it on and all the great curlers look for those situations and go after it aggressively when they come along.”

The four-ender is the largest score ever recorded in a 3-vs.-4 Page playoff game in Brier history.

Gushue failed to generate much in the ninth end and shook hands after giving up a steal of one.

For Gushue, who beat Bottcher in last year’s Brier final, it was a disappointing exit and one that may take a while to get over.

“It just feels rotten to end on that term and in that way on the Brier run,” he said. “I’m sure after tonight after we have a few beers it might soften it, but that one’s going to sting. … I’m sure we’ll have thoughts all the way to the summer about what could have been.”

Team Wild Card will now take on the loser of tonight’s 1-vs.-2 Page playoff game between Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs and Alberta’s Kevin Koe. The winner of that game, which begins at 7 p.m., advances to the final.

The semifinal is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m., followed by the final at 7 p.m.

Bottcher won last year’s semifinal 6-4 over Ontario’s John Epping before losing 6-4 in the final to Gushue. He hopes to use last year’s experience to his benefit this time around.

“I think the biggest thing is just relax,” Bottcher said. “Enjoy your time out there and just relax. It’s just another curling game. We play these top guys so many times with the way our schedule goes now, it’s not a whole new experience. Hopefully we’ll draw on our experience from last year into tomorrow.”

EXTRA ENDS: The second-team all-stars were announced on Saturday afternoon, with Manitoba’s Colin Hodgson earning the nod as lead, Canada’s Gallant named second, Alberta’s B.J. Neufeld third and Canada’s Gushue the skip.

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