Larry Wood, Tankard Times Editor (CCA)
HALIFAX, March 9, 2010 —Suddenly, but not surprisingly, it’s box cars at the Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Monsanto.
The wide division of the field never has happened this early. Six teams are in, six teams are playing for their reputations.
With four games remaining for each of the 12 teams in the Brier round robin at the Metro Centre, the field of contenders has been halved. Six teams are 5-and-2 or better. Six are 2-and-5 or worse.
Meanwhile, the lowly home team from Halifax managed some meagre consolation on Tuesday, notching one of only eight six-enders recorded at the Brier since the event reduced its length of games to 10 ends in 1977. None, however, involved a winless team at mid-week defeating a favourite of the ilk of Alberta’s Kevin Koe.
It transpired during the 10th draw of the 81st Canadian championship Tuesday afternoon, in the fifth end. Going in, Alberta was 4-and-1, Nova Scotia was 0-and-5.
Strangely thereafter, Fitzner-LeBlanc and his team of Stuart MacLean, Kent Smith and Phil Crowell had to hang on by its fingernails to finally record a wild 13-8 victory in nine ends over Kevin Koe of Edmonton.
However, Koe and his troops rebounded Tuesday night to stun Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton 7-2 and pull even with a 5-2 record.
Joining that pair at 5-2 were Quebec’s surprising rookie Serge Reid of Jonquière and Northern Ontario’s youthful Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie.
“We had to bear down and bring some of these teams back to us,” said Koe. “We knew we had to play better. We’d been struggling. Hopefully this will give us a boost.”
Said Stoughton, who tumbled behind 6-1 after six ends, “That was a stinker. I had an open hit and whiffed it, then I was four feet light on a draw for a deuce. When you get down you have to make them all and we weren’t making them. It was strictly poor execution.”
Each of them trailed leader Glenn Howard of Ontario (7-and-0) by two games and second-place Brad Gushue of Newfoundland/Labrador (6-and-1) by one game. Howard and Gushue met in the 2007 Brier final with the former emerging the winner.
Jacobs defeated Jeff Richard (2-5) of British Columbia 7-3 Tuesday night. Gushue stopped James Grattan (2-5) of New Brunswick 8-3.
In a match of also-rans, the Territories, with skip Jamie Koe on the absentee list, drubbed the Nova Scotians 7-2.
“We’ve been operating under the radar, which is exactly what I’ve been hoping for,” said Jacobs. “We’re an underdog for sure, so it’s a nice feeling. My guys have been making it easy for me so far. Now we have to limit the mistakes and hope to take advantage of the mistake or two you get from the big teams.”
The Soo crew has only Gushue and Quebec to play among the contending teams.
In Wednesday morning’s opening round, Howard and Gushue collide in a major clash while Alberta faces Quebec. Among the also-rans, it’s Saskatchewan’s Darrell McKee facing B.C.’s Richard and Nova Scotia going against P.E.I.