Kevin Marsh, Team McEwen looking to end Sask's Brier drought
3h ago
The 2025 Montana's Brier will take place from Feb. 38 to March 9, and Sask. last won in 1980.
When it comes to curling events, Kevin Marsh believes the Brier is one of the best.
“The Brier has always been the top event for me personally. As a kid, this is the event I wanted to make and win. I think that’s the same for my teammates as well,” said Marsh, who is the second on Mike McEwen’s Saskatchewan rink.
The 2025 Montana’s Brier is happening from Feb. 38 to March 9 at Prospera Place, Kelowna, British Columbia.
“This is the one we all grew up watching and idolizing Brier veterans like Kevin Martin, Glenn Howard, Jeff Stoughton, all those types of players. It always holds a special place for us and there’s a different atmosphere at the Brier compared to other events which I think is really special.”
The curling rink based out of the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon is looking to end a lengthy drought at the Canadian men’s national curling championships.
The last time a rink from the Land of Living Skies won the Brier, was 1980 and Rick Folk was the skip.
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Jim Wilson was the lead on that team and Marsh said he has given the team some words of encouragement ahead of the Montana’s Brier.
“Jim’s always giving us pep talks, there’s no shortage of that. I think every year we have gone to the Brier, he has given us the firm handshake and stares into your eyes and says, ‘Let’s end this drought,’” Marsh said.
McEwen’s rink consists of Kevin’s twin brother Dan at lead and Colton Flasch at third. They came in second at the Brier last year in Regina.
“Last year was really special being the home team. We really embraced it — we didn’t see it as a burden to be the home team or the extra pressure. We really enjoyed that experience having the fans and media attention and everything,” Marsh said.
“We played really well and made it all the way to the final. This year it’s a little bit different not being the home team but we still have lots of good fan support. Lots of family and friends made the trek out to Kelowna – it’s a pretty good place to be in March.”
This year, they are off to a 7-0 start at the Brier with only a showdown against the Alberta-based Brad Jacobs rink left in round-robin play. The winner of that will claim the top spot in Pool B.
“This is the game we kind of had circled on the calendar leading into the Brier. We knew it was going to be a big game and was going to be a battle for one of those playoff spots or first or second in the pool. We’re really excited for this game,” Marsh said.
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It was a unique year at the Brier as two Saskatchewan rinks qualified. McEwen’s rink qualified due to their performance on the Canadian curling tour throughout the year so they didn’t participate in the provincial playdowns.
That was won by Rylan Kleiter’s rink – also based out of the Nutana Curling Club.
But a loss to the Yukon on Thursday morning dropped their record to 3-4 and no longer able to qualify for playoffs.
It was the Kleiter rink’s first Brier appearance and they impressed Marsh with their performance.
“Really impressed but not too surprised they are doing well. We train out of the same club and they play a lot of the same bonspiels we play in on tour and they are putting in the work. Hard work does pay off in this game so not surprising to see them doing well on the big stage,” Marsh said.
The two rinks met on Wednesday, with McEwen’s rink emerging with a 7-2 victory. But it was a close contest, with both teams tied at two through seven ends before McEwen’s rink scored five in the eighth.
“That was a cool game. I think it’s really cool we have two Saskatchewan teams at the Brier this year. Two really strong teams that are playing really well,” Marsh said.
“We knew Kleiter’s team was going to be very tough to beat and they played really well. It was a really cool experience to be out there playing against them. Fortunately, we managed to take that big five-ender in the eighth end to kind of turn the game around.”
While this year’s Brier features plenty of top rinks like last year’s winner Team Canada Brad Gushue, Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone, and the Jacobs’ rink, Marsh said they believe this year’s event is wide open.
We take every game with a similar attitude. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing a Nova Scotia or an Alberta. We want to go out there and play our best,” Marsh said.
“We have a good handle on the ice playing seven games now and going to play a team like Brad Jacobs. We’re pretty confident we have a good feel for the ice. We’re looking forward to it.”