(by Jonathan Brazeau)
PARADISE, N.L. — Brad Gushue of St. John’s sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy as he punched his ticket to the final in his home-province Tour Challenge event Saturday night at the Paradise Double Ice Complex.
Team Gushue defeated Team Mike McEwen of Winnipeg 5-3 in the semifinals of the season-opening Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament.
Gushue grabbed the lead with a deuce in the seventh and ran McEwen out of rocks in eight when he nailed an open hit with his last shot that brought the entire building to its feet.
“No matter what happens tomorrow this is going to be one of the most memorable weeks of my curling career,” an ecstatic Gushue said after the match. “To get a standing ovation before every game and have a full house here cheering us on, supporting us the way they are, it’s awesome.”
“You just don’t get that opportunity very much,” he added. “The guys told me it’s been seven years but the last one I remember is 10 years ago so it’s been a long time and it’s fun. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and it’s going to be a great game and a great atmosphere.”
The three-time Pinty’s GSOC champion Gushue now plays Calgary’s Kevin Koe (Sunday, 5:30 p.m. AT; Sportsnet), who rolled through defeating John Shuster, of Duluth, Minn., 9-2 in six ends.
Koe, who is also a three-time Pinty’s GSOC event winner, jumped out with a three-ender in the third, stole one in the fourth and closed out the game with a four score in the sixth.
“They’re a good team, four very-good shot-makers. We’re going to have to play well to beat them,” Gushue said. “If we can just keep playing the way we’re playing then we’ll have a good shot. We’re going to need a couple misses from them and they’re probably hoping for the same thing from us but I’m looking forward to it.”
[P.E.I’s Adam Casey rink went 1-3 in round robin play, and did not advance to the playoff round].
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The women’s Tier 1 final sees Rachel Homan’s undefeated Ottawa rink face Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland (Sunday, 11:00 a.m. AT; Sportsnet).
Team Homan defeated EunJung Kim of South Korea 6-4 and are now 6-0 through the Tour Challenge. Homan scored two in the third and stole one in four to break out to a 4-1 lead. Kim was held to one in the sixth, Homan added another two in the sixth and Kim wasn’t able to claw back.
Team Kim is the first Asian team to qualify for the playoffs at a Pinty’s GSOC event.
Meanwhile, Tirinzoni fended off a late charge from Tracy Fleury, of Sudbury, Ont., to win 9-7 and advance to her first career Pinty’s GSOC final. Fleury, the reigning Northern Ontario Scotties champion, scored three in the seventh to close to within one but Tirinzoni made the draw with her last shot coming home to advance.
TIER 2 RECAP
Jim Cotter and Mark Kean meet for a spot in the Pinty’s GSOC Masters event when they clash in the Tour Challenge Tier 2 men’s final.
Cotter of Vernon, B.C., cruised by with a 9-2 victory in five ends over Scotland’s Kyle Smith. Cotter got a deuce in the first, added a three-ender in the third, and scored four in the fifth while holding Smith to singles in two and four.
Kean, from Stoney Creek, Ont., held off Scotland’s Tom Brewster 6-4. Kean broke a 2-2 tie with a single in the third and stole points in five and six to pad his lead. Brewster got two in the seventh but couldn’t complete the comeback.
The women’s Tier 2 final sees Team Chantelle Eberle face Kerri Einarson. [P.E.I.’s Suzanne Birt rink went 2-2 in round robin play, and advanced to the quarter-finals, losing to Winnipeg’s Jill Thurston by an 8-5 score. Thurston lost to Einerson in the semis.]
Eberle’s rink, with 2011 Scotties champion Amber Holland sparing at skip, defeated Jamie Sinclair, of Blaine, Minn. Team Eberle, from Regina, snapped a 2-2 tie with a single in three and followed up stealing two in the fourth and one in the fifth. Sinclair got a point in six and stole one in seven but gave up the hammer coming home and Team Eberle added another two in the eighth to ice the game.
Einarson scored two in the eighth to tie it and stole in the extra end to win 7-6 during an all-Winnipeg rink match against Jill Thurston.
The Tier 2 finals will be played during their respective Tier 1 finals on the main rink.
NOTES: The Tour Challenge is the first of two new tournaments on the expanded seven-event 2015-16 Pinty’s GSOC season and features 30 men’s and 30 women’s teams split into two tiers. … Winners of the Tier 1 divisions also receive berths to the second new Pinty’s GSOC event, the season-ending Champions Cup. … Tier 2 champions earn byes to the next Grand Slam, the Masters, running Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 in Truro, N.S.