On his 12th attempt to claim Manitoba men’s curling glory, Jason Gunnlaugson finally emerged a winner and planned an appropriate celebration.
“We’re gonna have one heck of a party here the next day and a half,” the 35-year-old Winnipegger said, moments after beating Mike McEwen 7-4 in the Viterra Championship final Sunday afternoon at Eric Coy Arena.
“It’s just fantastic. So excited, so happy, so much work, so much everything. It’s just amazing.”
Gunnlaugson, third Alex Forrest, second Adam Casey and lead Connor Njegovan will represent Manitoba in the 2020 Brier in Kingston, Ont., starting on Feb. 29.
It will be the first Brier appearance for the man they call “Gunner,” a curler who has bounced around many teams in Manitoba, B.C., and even Russia over the last 15 years and who has always been close to winning championships but could never get over the top.
It wasn’t until he joined up with Forrest and Njegovan in the fall of 2017 that things really started to come together.
“It came together because we’ve assembled a great group of guys,” Gunnlaugson said. “Connor and Alex stuck with me. I was cut, I was on an island in curling, with no real purpose. They picked me up and they’ve just stuck with me and given me the chance to become an elite skip. I think with this performance we can finally say that maybe I’m getting there.
“I was a free agent and they didn’t have a skip, so they got me on board. They love playing and I love playing and we just played and played and played until we won the Buffalo.”
Gunnlaugson entered the 32-team men’s provincial championship as the second seed, behind only McEwen, the 2019 champion.
His team lost only once this week and beat McEwen twice, first in the Page playoff game on Saturday night to book a spot in the final, and again Sunday afternoon after McEwen beat Sean Grassie in the morning semifinal.
It was a heavyweight battle between two of the top-ranked teams in Canada (McEwen is fourth, Gunnlaugson seventh) but it was also a battle against challenging ice conditions.
Gunnlaugson and his teammates handled those changing conditions better, made more shots and capitalized on some massive, uncharacteristic mistakes by Team McEwen.
Twice, McEwen came up well light on draws to give away points, giving Gunnlaugson a steal of two in the third and throwing away a deuce that would have tied the game 5-5 in the eighth
“It’s too bad … it could have been a barn-burner finish there,” said McEwen, whose team will still play in the Brier wild card game against Glenn Howard of Ontario on Feb. 28.
“The ice ate up that draw, and it felt pretty good out of the hand and it ended up half way. It is what it is. It’s been ‘Who can manage the ice’ all week. I’ve been around a long time. I know what perfect is, and it’s hard to make perfect ice. So it was difficult.
“Unfortunately, the vets today didn’t quite manage the ice as good as the slightly younger team. They did a good job and we didn’t quite manage it as well as they did.”
Gunnlaugson has a reputation as being one of the best big-weight throwers in the game and he didn’t disappoint, making key doubles in the seventh and 10th ends. But he also had draw weight and that made him a formidable foe.
“I can hit,” he said. “If I draw well, we’re gonna win.”
Gunnlaugson also has a reputation as someone who loses sight of the goal sometimes, but that certainly didn’t seem to be a problem this week. After his team dropped an 8-2 decision to upstart Ryan Wiebe on Friday, all four curlers zeroed in and steamrolled the rest of the way to a title.
“There were a lot of years where I didn’t have the focus that I’ve had the last few years,” he said. “Being with guys who love to curl and have given me every opportunity to figure it out, was what I needed. It took a long time. There’s a lot of good skips who never win anything until they’re about 35 and then they figure it out. Maybe it’s just an age thing, but, whatever, I am so happy.”
Gunnlaugson won his first Manitoba men’s provincial championship 37 years after his grandfather, Lloyd Gunnlaugson, won the title.
“I might need to process that but I’m sure my granny (Jeannette) is pretty happy that we won,” he said. “She’s definitely my biggest fan ever. I’m sure she appreciates it even more than I do at this moment.”
It’s also the first provincial title for Forrest and Njegovan, who have been teammates since their junior days, and Casey, who is an import from Prince Edward Island.
This will be Casey’s seventh Brier appearance, representing his fourth province. He previously played for P.E.I., Newfoundland and Saskatchewan at the Brier.
“Yeah, I’ve been bouncing around,” Casey said. “You never know when you’re gonna play your last game. I was super fortunate. If Jason doesn’t give me a call I don’t know if I even play this year. It was a perfect fit.
“These guys are like brothers to me, I love playing with Jay, he’s just a tremendous guy who puts so much into it. He hasn’t been given the respect and credit he deserves. He works incredibly hard.”
Njegovan now gets to join his wife, Selena, as a Manitoba champion. She won the provincial title with Tracy Fleury last year, and with Kerri Einarson in 2016, and will play in the Scotties wild card game in Moose Jaw on Friday.
“I finally will get my little section in the trophy room, hopefully,” Njegovan said. “If she can move a few things over for me. Honestly, we’re super blessed. We’re both doing something we love to do and it’s just super cool.”
Forrest accepted a different role with the team around Christmas, when Gunnlaugson decided to have Casey stand on the T-line and hold the broom, while Forrest handled sweeping duties and threw third stones.
It seemed to pay off because of Casey’s savvy and Forrest’s strength as a sweeper.
Now Forrest is living a lifelong dream.
“It’s pretty awesome to be wearing this jacket,” he said, sporting the Manitoba yellow with the bison logo. “I’ve been going solely after getting to the Brier for the last 10 or 11 years so it’s a pretty incredible feeling to break through now and be going.”
Gunnlaugson first broke onto the Manitoba men’s scene in 2006, when he played third for Reid Carruthers and made it all the way to the Safeway Select final against Jeff Stoughton.
Fourteen years later, he was on the ice with Carruthers again on Sunday, though on opposing sides. Carruthers, who plays third for McEwen, was obviously disappointed to lose on Sunday, but he couldn’t help but smile for his old teammate.
“This is his first men’s provincial championship and I’m happy for him,” Carruthers said.
BRIER 2020 FIELD
At Kingston, Ont., Feb. 29-March 8
Jason Gunnlaugson, Manitoba
Kevin Koe, Canada
Brendan Bottcher, Alberta
Brad Gushue, Newfoundland
Brad Jacobs, Northern Ontario
Jamie Murphy, Nova Scotia
Jim Cotter, B.C.
James Grattan, New Brunswick
John Epping, Ontario
Bryan Cochrane, PEI
Alek Bedard, Quebec
Jake Higgs, Nunavut
Thomas Scoffin, Yukon
Matt Dunstone, Saskatchewan
Jamie Koe, Northwest Territories
Wild card game: Mike McEwen vs. Glenn Howard
