What an NCAA rule change might mean for junior hockey in Sask.
Nov 18, 2024
Previously, WHL players were declared ineligible to play NCAA hockey in the U.S.
Colton Flasch’s winning streak at the Tim Hortons Brier ended Friday night, but his stay at the Canadian men’s curling championship in Lethbridge isn’t over.
The Saskatchewan skip lost 7-2 to Alberta’s Kevin Koe in a Page playoff qualifier, dropping the team from the Saskatoon Nutana into the 3-4 Page playoff game Saturday against Brad Gushue. That contest is to start at 2:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time.
Gushue lost 4-3 to Team Canada’s Brendan Bottcher in Friday night’s other qualifier. Gushue was forced to play with only three players after third Mark Nichols tested positive for COVID-19.
Koe and Bottcher are to play in the 1-2 Page playoff game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time, with the winner advancing to Sunday’s final. The loser will fall into Sunday’s semifinal to play the winner of the Flasch-Gushue game.
Flasch had won six straight entering the matchup with Koe. That streak included two games earlier Friday: A 9-5 victory over the Regina-based Wild Card #2 team skipped by Matt Dunstone in a tiebreaker and a 10-3 triumph over Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs in a playoff game.
Flasch and Koe were locked in a tight one, with Koe holding a 4-2 lead after eight ends. In the ninth, Flasch tried a tough runback double with his final stone, but his miss allowed the Alberta champions to steal three — and the Saskatchewan foursome conceded.
A team from Saskatchewan hasn’t won the Brier since Rick Folk turned the trick in 1980.