Bottcher makes massive shot to reach Brier final

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This article was published 09/03/2019 (2020 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brendan Bottcher sat in the hack with laser-like focus for his last shot of the Tim Hortons Brier semifinal at Westoba Place on Sunday afternoon.

Concentrating on nothing but the guard he needed to raise onto another guard, into his own stone to nudge it into the four-foot for a game-winning deuce.

He was perfect. Bottcher and Team Wild Card edged Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs 5-4 and booked their spot in the Canadian men’s curling championship final.

He seriously wasn’t thinking about anything else, especially not his next game.

“What time is the final?” Bottcher asked Curling Canada’s Al Cameron after the win.

It’s at 7 p.m., when he’ll take on Kevin Koe’s Team Alberta in an all-Alberta title game.

“It really speaks to the depth we have in Alberta,” Bottcher said. “I was hoping the two of us would get to play each other in the provincial final, but I’ll take the Brier final.”

Wild Card third Darren Moulding threaded a needle to make a hit with his last, then Bottcher followed the path to like two.

With his last, Jacobs did the same and removed one, forcing Bottcher to make the massive shot to take himself, along with Moulding, Brad Thiessen and Karrick Martin to the final.

Jacobs was lights out for most of the week, but stumbled in a 56 per cent performance in the 1-vs.-2 Page playoff game Saturday evening, and didn’t have enough in the semifinal.

“In a game like that where it’s just a real good back and forth curling game, it’s hard to be too disappointed,” Jacobs said. “I’m disappointed that we’re not playing in the final tonight, but I’m really proud of the guys for the way that they played all week. We’re going to take this experience, learn from it and come out stronger.”

Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden opted to mix it up in the first end and had to draw against two and take a 1-0 lead.

Bottcher flashed a difficult hit on a buried stone and gave up a single in the second, but came right back with a deuce after Jacobs sent a raise takeout wide in the third end.

After playing an end seemingly destined for a routine blank in the fourth, Jacobs stuffed his takeout and took an unwanted 3-2 lead.

Both sides picked it up in the fifth. Bottcher nailed a double-takeout that left him partially buried. Jacobs replied with a come-around hit to forced Bottcher to draw the four-foot for one. He had just enough to knot it at 3-3 at the break.

After a blank in the sixth, Jacobs pulled off a circus shot: An angle-raise double-takeout that could have scored a couple. He only got one and led 4-3. Bottcher blanked a few more and left Jacobs up one coming home, sending his team to its second straight Brier final.

This time, it’s against the team that knocked them out of Alberta provincials in the semifinal.

“Us and Koe have probably played 50 times and each win about 50 per cent of them, so we just got to go out and do our best, and hopefully it’s enough,” Bottcher said.

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