Matt Dunstone

If Manitoba is going to end 11-year championship drought at the Tim Hortons Brier, it will take a two-win day from Matt Dunstone on Sunday.

It didn’t quite have the crazy ending we would have liked, but just to play in this atmosphere and put on a show for the crowd this week … “We were in the grave before Christmas. It parted ways with original lead Jonathan Beuk and the idea of competing in the Brier at the time seemed ludicrous. We let it all hang out there and played well and there’s nothing to be ashamed about.” “We played a great game and we weren’t far from hanging in there. It didn’t come up and I missed it by an inch. “I liked how I threw it, maybe just a little bit heavy. It rolled a few inches. Lott and Neufeld made beautiful runbacks in the 10th, but Gushue simply wouldn’t go away and Dunstone’s strategy backfired when he found himself left with a very tough shot on his last. He saw coming home tied, with the hammer, as the best path to victory. Dunstone curled 90% in the game, while third B.J. Article content

Skip Dunstone and his Manitoba rink were tied at 4-4 with Team Canada (Brad Gushue) in the 10th end of the Page 1 vs. 2 game, but his shot to hit and stick ...

Skip Dunstone and his Manitoba rink were tied at 4-4 with Team Canada (Brad Gushue) in the 10th end of the Page 1 vs. “We can fold our tents now or come out tomorrow guns ablazing and win two games for a Brier title.” The winner will toil against Gushue in the gold-medal game, a 4 p.m.

Team Canada will get a chance to defend its title at the Tim Hortons Brier -- and Brad Gushue will get a shot ...

Gushue responded with two of his own in the fourth, and the teams again traded singles in the fifth and sixth. The chess match continued, with Dunstone blanking each of the seventh, eighth and ninth ends to take last rock into the 10th. With the victory, Gushue advances directly to Sunday’s final.

Brad Gushue, left, and Mark Nichols salute the crowd after booking their spot in the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier final. (Photo, Curling Canada/Michael Burns).

It was a battle of the two best teams and two best skips this week, and it came as advertised. “Some of the shots Matt’s team made and some of the shots our team made were incredible. Harnden and Ryan Harnden who, after years of playing together with skip Brad Jacobs, were on opposite sides of the fence Saturday. “I hope we play tomorrow and we win tomorrow, but it’s not fun. There were plenty of rocks in play and enough great shots to keep the spectators vocal. The Buffalo Boys had won nine in a row, almost every game by a wide margin, before being derailed by Team Canada. Fortunately, we got a miss from them at the end.” “Unfortunately I didn’t make the last one there. He missed it by a whisker, striking the shot stone but sliding off. John’s Curling Club in Newfoundland & Labrador, to four Canadian men’s curling championships over the years, and may yet yield No. Harnden, lead Geoff Walker and coach Caleb Flaxey over the top. It’s the same game plan Gushue has used to carry his team from the RE/MAX Centre, St.

Wild Card 1's Brendan Bottcher defeated Ontario's Mike McEwen 6-3 in the Page playoff 3-4 game on Saturday at the Brier in London, Ont.

"We were in the grave before Christmas," McEwen said. And here we are in the final four in Canada. A wide runback in the ninth was also costly. They did have some highlight moments over the week, reeling off four straight round-robin wins after a middling start. A 6-2 round-robin record at the nationals secured a berth in the playoff round. McEwen topped John Epping and Glenn Howard en route to the Ontario crown. "At times it felt like we brought a knife to a gunfight. "It's not too often you see a team convert that many runs and doubles." "At this stage of my career, I'm a little more appreciative of all the things I used to take for granted," Laing said. Dunstone blanked three straight ends before giving up the single for his first loss of the competition. ET!#Brier2023 pic.twitter.com/pI83wU8AED— "I liked how I threw it, [it was] maybe a little bit heavy," he said.

LONDON, Ont. — Brad Gushue is back in familiar territory — the Tim Hortons Brier final.

“The Brier is special,” Bottcher said. You’re seeing the fruits of that labour in real time. 1 quality is to lead by example and he’s taken pride in that role on our team.” Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Hebert have been through every situation in the curling world. Bottcher won his first Brier gold in the Calgary bubble two years ago with an entirely different cast. I’m happy for these guys as a first-year team to make it to the playoffs. Dunstone, meanwhile, is hoping to come all the way back to earn Manitoba’s first title since Jeff Stoughton won on this same ice 12 years ago. I’m going to come out just like I did (here) and make every single shot and see us win and hopefully, hug at the end of it. All of his great curling memories have come with Ryan on the same ice. The victory put Canada second E.J. Gushue forced just the second steal of the tournament from Manitoba after Dunstone’s final rock in the 10th rolled a few inches too far. Article content