LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Brad Gushue beat defending champion Brendan Bottcher 9-3 on Sunday afternoon to advance to the final of the Tim Hortons Brier.

Gushue’s short-handed Wild Card One side made a hit for three in the seventh end and sealed the victory by stealing a pair in the eighth.

The St. John’s skip, who won Olympic bronze last month in Beijing, will face Alberta’s Kevin Koe in the evening championship game at the Enmax Centre.

Koe, who lost last year’s final in the Calgary bubble, defeated Bottcher in the 1-2 Page playoff game on Saturday night to secure a direct berth to the final.

Both teams focused on defence at the outset of the semifinal. Gushue made a nice draw under a centre guard in the fourth end to force Bottcher to tap for a single and 2-1 lead.

Bottcher was wide with a runback in the fifth end to set up Gushue for a draw for three points.

The Canada skip caught a bad break in the sixth end when his stone picked, but he followed with a runback double-takeout to salvage a single.

Bottcher was light with his final shot in the seventh and Gushue took advantage for another three-ender.

The Wild Card One team has played as a three-man unit since Friday when vice Mark Nichols tested positive for COVID-19, knocking him out of the competition.

Gushue reached the semifinal by defeating Saskatchewan’s Colton Flasch in the 3-4 Page playoff.

The Brier winner will represent Canada at the April 2-10 world men’s curling championship.

Kerri Einarson won her third straight Scotties Tournament of Hearts title last month. She’ll wear the Maple Leaf at the March 19-27 women’s world curling championship in Prince George, B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2022.

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