CALGARY (CCA) — Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton heads into Day 2 here at the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier atop the field with a perfect 2-0 record.
Stoughton followed up a convincing 8-3 victory over Nova Scotia’s Mark Dacey here Saturday afternoon with another convincing win Saturday night, 9-4 over NWT/Yukon’s Jamie Koe.
“It’s pretty good. It was a long day,” Stoughton said, “just because the opening ceremonies were a little early and the banquet was late last night. But it’s good, we have one game tomorrow…It’s nice it’s only one game, we’ll get a little rest and get ready for the rest of the week.”
In other games Saturday evening, BC’s Sean Geall defeated Northern Ontario’s Mike Jakubo 9-4; Nova Scotia’s Mark Dacey beat PEI’s Rod MacDonald 8-5; and, in a battle of a world champion against an Olympic champion, Ontario’s Glenn Howard scored three in the tenth end to eke out a 9-8 win over Newfoundland’s Brad Gushue.
Gushue carried an 8-6 lead into the final end, but his team came apart on him. Second Ryan Fry flashed his second rock and then third Mark Nichols followed right after with another flash of his own. And then with his second rock, Nichols crashed — a comedy of errors that left five Howard stones piled up in the house.
Stoughton was clinging to a 5-4 lead over Koe, when he made an in-off for three with the last rock of the eighth end. It was the second three-ender of the game for Manitoba.
Earlier, three former Canadian men’s curling champions were among the winners in the opening draw.
Reigning world champion Kevin Martin of Alberta defeated New Brunswick’s Russ Howard 7-4; two-time Brier champion Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba defeated Nova Scotia’s Mark Dacey 8-3; and Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard, the 2006 Brier champion, spoiled the Brier debut of Saskatchewan’s Joel Jordison, dropping Jordison 7-5. In the only other game on the opening draw, PEI’s Rod MacDonald beat NWT/Yukon’s Jamie Koe 8-2.
A Brier record opening draw crowd of 14,010 had lots to cheer about early as Martin jumped all over Howard, cashing in on a Howard flash with a three-ender in the very first end.
Martin said he was relieved to finally start playing.
“To get out on the ice, the first rock comes down, and then you just relax, away you go,” Martin said. “The week prior, it’s a lot of work doing the organizing for everybody to come down to Calgary, and once that first rock’s thrown you can relax and play.
Dacey, meantime, gave credit to Stoughton in what was a lopsided victory. “We got our ends going, but just couldn’t maintain it,” said Dacey. “You have to tip your hat to them.”