McEwen, Sask. finish round-robin play with win at 2024 Brier

Saskatchewan ended its round-robin play at the Montana’s Brier with a fourth straight win to build momentum going into the playoffs.

Mike McEwen’s rink defeated Quebec’s Julien Tremblay’s 7-6 at the Brandt Centre on Thursday afternoon during the Canadian men’s curling championship.

“I wanted them to play us hard and they did,” McEwen said. “They played some really precise shots, especially late in the game, and that was perfect.

“I wanted to be pushed. I didn’t want to take (Thursday) off.”

The game wasn’t going to affect where Saskatchewan finished in Pool B, as McEwen’s team had clinched top spot with a win over Nunavut on Wednesday.

Saskatchewan (7-1) is to take on the second-place finisher in Pool A in the 1-2 Page playoff game on Friday at 1 p.m. McEwen’s opponent in that contest is to be determined after Thursday’s evening draw.

“We put ourselves in a great position. Two shots at it — what more can you ask for to get into the final four?” McEwen said. “I’m excited to see what the building looks like (Friday). I think it’s going to feel as good as it did opening night or better. I’m excited for this weekend.”

READ MORE:

• McEwen clinches top spot in Pool B at Brier
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• Saskatchewan bounces back in a big way at 2024 Brier

With victories over Canada’s Brad Gushue and Alberta’s Kevin Koe on the opening weekend, McEwen said he already feels like there has been a playoff atmosphere at the Brier.

“Opening weekend felt like playoffs. I was spent after Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It feels like we’re stepping into that arena and environment again,” McEwen said.

“It’s kind of interesting in that way — I don’t think that has always happened for a Brier for me. That felt like playoffs (during the) opening weekend so it’s not unfamiliar territory, at least in my mind.”

McEwen is excited to take on the best curlers Canada has to offer over the weekend.

“Sometimes you’re out on tour and travelling all over the country and all of the sudden you’re in (Lloydminster) and it’s -40 and you’re like, ‘What am I doing here?’ But it’s all a part of the journey to get here,” McEwen said. “I love playing against the best — that’s what gets me fired up the most.

“As an athlete, especially with where I am at in my career, this is the most excited I get to play. I think it motivates and drives me.”

In another afternoon game, Gushue defeated Alberta’s Aaron Sluchinski 10-4. That win gave Canada second place in Pool B.

Also in that draw, the Northwest Territories’ Jamie Koe was able to steal the deciding point in an extra end in a 9-8 win over Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith.

The win gave Koe the third and final playoff spot in Pool B. It’s the first time since 2012 that Koe has reached the playoffs at the Brier.

Quebec got on the board first against McEwen with a hit and stick for one in the first end, but Saskatchewan got a deuce in the second.

After Quebec added another single in the third with a hit and roll, McEwen answered with a single of his own with an open hit and stick in the fourth.

Quebec got two in the fifth with a draw to go ahead 4-3, but Saskatchewan got the two right back in the sixth to again take the lead.

Tremblay needed a triple takeout against three Saskatchewan rocks in the seventh, but he only cleared out two, allowing Saskatchewan to steal another point to take a 6-4 lead.

The eighth end saw Saskatchewan get another steal of one, and Quebec scored a single in the ninth to cut the deficit to 7-5.

With Quebec needing a steal of two in the 10th end to tie the game, McEwen was able to limit Quebec to a steal of one.

In the morning draw, Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers beat the Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin 6-4, Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher downed British Columbia’s Catlin Schneider 9-4, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Andrew Symonds defeated New Brunswick’s James Grattan 10-4, and Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone posted an 8-3 victory over Northern Ontario’s Trevor Bonot.

In the other afternoon showdown, Kevin Koe beat Nunavut’s Shane Latimer 6-4.

Pool A is in action once again in the evening draw with playoff implications. Symonds takes on Dunstone, Scoffin and Bonot do battle, Bottcher is to take on Carruthers, and Ontario’s Scott Howard will meet Grattan.

Only Carruthers has clinched a playoff spot heading into the final draw of the round-robin.