LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – The page playoff matchups are set at the Tim Hortons Brier.
The usual suspects own three of the four spots with 2022 Olympic bronze medallist Brad Gushue, 2021 Brier winner Brendan Bottcher and four-time Canadian champion Kevin Koe all making the second weekend. The surprise of the week has been Colton Flasch and his Saskatchewan rink as they will round out the page playoff field in Lethbridge.
Alberta will take on Canada in the 1 vs. 2 game after their wins in the page seeding round Friday night while Saskatchewan will take on Wild Card 1 in the 3 vs. 4 contest. Both games go on Saturday with the semi-final and final set for Sunday.
Let’s take a closer look at the matchups and all the storylines that set up to be a fun weekend of elite level curling an the Enmax Centre.
The last rink standing will wear the Maple Leaf at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Las Vegas from April 2-10.
SK (Flasch) vs. WC1 (Gushue)
3 vs. 4 Game – Saturday at 3:30pm ET on TSN 1, TSN Direct and the TSN App
‘It’s a gut punch on top of a kick in the groin’: Gushue on losing Nichols
After a loss to Canada, Brad Gushue discusses losing Mark Nichols for the rest of the Tim Hortons Brier after testing positive for COVID-19 and how tough it will be to be the last team standing as a result.
If Gushue and the B’ys from The Rock are going to capture their fourth Brier Tankard since 2017, they’re going to have to do it a man down.
About an hour before Friday’s page seeding clash against Bottcher, Gushue’s rink announced on Twitter that third Mark Nichols is done for the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day.
“Despite taking the necessary precautions, Mark Nichols unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19 today,” the release said. “Mark is experiencing mild symptoms and is currently isolating. Due to event protocols, Mark will no longer be able to compete in the Tim Hortons Brier. The team will play the rest of the event with three players. We wish Mark all the best and a speedy recovery.”
Gushue, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker will now finish off the event by themselves as they did not bring an alternate with them to Lethbridge this week.
The first test will come Saturday afternoon in the 3 vs. 4-game against Saskatchewan’s Colton Flasch after they dropped a close 4-3 decision to Team Bottcher Friday night. Of course, playing with only three players comes with some massive disadvantages, including only having one sweeper.
“We’ve done everything we can in the last few months to avoid this and we’re one of the only teams here that were wearing masks and doing all this stuff. And we get caught in the playoffs when we were playing great,” said Gushue after the loss. “It’s a gut punch on top of a kick in the groin.”
Team Gushue, who are fresh off winning bronze at the Winter Olympics in Beijing last month, were the only rink in Lethbridge to get through round-robin play with a perfect 8-0 record as Wild Card 1.
Gushue has said all week that his expectations are lower compared to Briers of year’s past because of the recent Olympic exhaustion, but the results paint a different picture. The St. John’s foursome had yet to lose entering Friday’s action with their skipper shooting a Brier-best 90 per cent. Nichols was best among vices at 88 per cent.
The future of Gushue’s team is very much up in the air, so going out on top would a dream ending for this group who have been together for the past eight years. And playing shorthanded, it might just be their toughest task yet.
Must See: Saskatchewan skip Flasch delivers with incredible triple takeout
Saskatchewan skip Colton Flasch makes a fantastic triple takeout against Alberta’s Kevin Koe.
On the other side of the sheet, it will be Saskatchewan’s Team Flasch, who have been one of the more intriguing teams at this year’s Brier.
After dropping a tough 9-8 decision to Alberta and his former skip Koe in the opener last Friday night, Flasch have been zoned in, winning eight of his next 10 games.
They’ve defeated their provincial rivals, Team Matt Dunstone, in the round-robin finale Thursday to earn a tiebreaker and then they beat them again in said tiebreaker to make the playoffs.
In the biggest surprise of the week, they thumped Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs Friday afternoon in the playoffs, 10-3 in just seven ends, as Flasch shot an impressive 88 per cent. They lost to Team Koe, 7-2, in the page seeding round.
Flasch says he’s starting to feel like he’s in the zone.
“Oh yeah. The draw weight has been there all week and now I’m hitting a little better. It’s been good,” he said after beating Jacobs earlier Friday.
Flasch, a construction company owner from Saskatoon, played second for Team Koe in Alberta for two seasons, highlighted by capturing his first Brier Tankard in 2019. Following a disappointing run as Team Canada at the 2020 nationals, Flasch was cut in favour of John Morris.
The 31-year-old was able to build his very own Saskatchewan-based team after Catlin Schneider was let go from Team Dunstone and the Marsh twins – Kevin and Daniel – found themselves without a team after their skip Kirk Muyres joined Dunstone’s rink.
Their first season together in 2020-21 was more or less a wash due to COVID-19. This season they’ve played in nine events, highlighted by an appearance in the Vesta Energy Curling Classic final and a win over Dunstone in the provincial championship last month. They also went 4-2 at the Home Hardware Curling Pre-Trials.
This is Flasch’s sixth career Brier, but first as a skip. He says he learned a lot from his short time with Koe.
“Playing with Kevin Koe I’ve learnt over the years that you don’t have to be too good too early. And learn the ice. Every game even if you lose, make sure you learn something from that game. Move forward. We’ve been doing a great job of that,” said Flasch. “It definitely helped playing with Kevin.
“These games are lot easier after playing in them and knowing what it takes to win. Just all the knowledge and being comfortable in these games helps as well.”
Schneider says that Koe-like calm presence is needed in a skip since the pressures of the position are so intense.
“I mean it’s nerve-wracking. You’re the guy who has to make the final shot in front of a ton of people, in front of all of Canada and North America watching, right,” said Schneider. “So, it’s not the easiest thing to do and people who haven’t been there don’t quite understand that feeling. So, my job is to just calm him down and relax, get him in the right head space and bring his confidence up because he’s a great player.”
There’s skip pressure and there’s the pressure of bringing home the Tankard to Saskatchewan. Of course, the curling crazed prairie province hasn’t won the Canadian men’s curling championship since 1980 when Rick Folk, Ron Mills, Tim Wilson and Jim Wilson stood atop the podium.
Dunstone was close the past couple years with back-to-back semi-final appearances but wasn’t able to get over the hump and snap the 40-year plus drought.
Flasch and company still have a long way to go to accomplish that feat.
“Oh, I think they’re very hungry. I’ve heard the question about 100 times this week. So, I’m not here to necessarily win for Saskatchewan, I am obviously, but I’m here to win for our team and if that happens great.”
CA (Bottcher) vs. AB (Koe)
1 vs. 2 Game – Saturday at 6:30pm ET on TSN 1/5, TSN Direct and the TSN App
Tim Horton’s Brier: Page Qualifier – Saskatchewan 2, Alberta 7
Kevin Koe and Team Alberta beat Saskatchewan’s Colton Flasch to earn a spot in the 1-2 Page Playoff game at the Brier.
Saturday’s evening feature pits the defending champions looking to make their fifth straight appearance in the Brier final against a squad stacked with talent playing in their last Brier together.
It’s also the Battle of Alberta and a rematch of last year’s final. So, safe to say it will be a good one.
We know Bottcher and Team Canada are going to be hard to beat in the playoffs as they’ve proven in the past quadrennial.
Despite a mid-season lineup change, cutting Darren Moulding in favour of alternate Patrick Janssen, Bottcher and his team haven’t missed a beat in Lethbridge. They went 7-1 in the preliminary round with their only loss coming to Koe, the team they beat in the final last year inside the Calgary bubble for their first national title.
Bottcher, 30, is shooting a solid 85 per cent while Janssen has fit in well, also shooting 85 per cent, which is fourth best among thirds.
It seems like whatever you throw this team’s way, they find a way to deflect it. Last Saturday night in their second game of the event, Bottcher and company were most definitely the “road team” despite wearing Team Canada colours and being from Edmonton, just five hours north of Lethbridge. That was because they were facing New Brunswick’s James Grattan with hometown favourite Moulding in their lineup.
There were plenty of cheers for Moulding and just as many heckles for Bottcher, but that didn’t faze the unflappable skip as Team Bottcher slid to a 6-4 win.
“I thought it was a curling knowledgeable crowd and ultimately it was always going to be a battle,” a relaxed Bottcher said after the game. “So, I guess I came into this game expecting it and I was actually glad it lived up to that hype. It was a good venue here tonight.”
We know that this is the final year for Koe, BJ Neufeld, John Morris and Ben Hebert with the foursome slated to disband in some form by season’s end.
Three-time Brier champ Morris, 43, is expected to step away from the men’s game and maybe only focus on playing mixed doubles going forward for the foreseeable future.
In Lethbridge, Team Koe has not looked like a rink that is set to break up.
Their 47-year-old skipper is second among skips in shooting percentage at 87 per cent as he’s searching for a history-making fifth Brier Tankard.
As we’ve come to know over the years, there’s Tour Kevin Koe and then there’s Brier Kevin Koe. In nine prior appearances at nationals, the native of Calgary has made seven finals, winning four of them.
“He’s amazing at the Brier. His record speaks for that alone,” Hebert told TSN.ca this week. “He cranks it up as the event he really cares about. He likes to peak at these events and I like the way he’s playing right now. It looks like he’s doing it again.”
The winner advances straight to Sunday evening’s final while the loser has another chance to dance and will play the winner of the 3 vs. 4 game in the semi-final.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
