The record Brier win streak stretched to 27 on Saturday night at the John Labatt Centre.
Kevin Martin of Team Alberta (Photo: Michael Burns Photography)
Alberta’s Kevin Martin, riding a 26-zip winning streak in his last two Brier appearances, warded off a threat in the early ends by Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs and rolled to a 6-2 victory, the Alberta team’s first of this latest Tim Hortons Brier.
Alberta is looking for a fourth straight Brier win this week which would tie the province with Manitoba for the most titles in Brier history.
The Martin team faces New Brunswick’s James Grattan and British Columbia’s Jim Cotter in morning and afternoon matches today.
Meanwhile Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton obviously has a plan in mind to stall the Alberta advance and give his province a bonus title.
Stoughton climbed atop the standings with his second win of the opening day, defeating James Grattan of New Brunswick 9-4 with a ninth-end four-ender.
Grattan, who earlier stole a 5-4 win from Ontario’s Glenn Howard when he pulled he pulled the string on a last-rock draw to he eight-foot circle, blew an open draw for three in the first end against Manitoba.
“We had our chances early and that miss might have set the tone,” said the New Brunswick skip. “But it just came down to execution.”
Or lack of it.
“The ice seems to bite when you give it the soft release. Where we come from, we have to throw it a bit soft to get the curl.”
Stoughton got off on the right foot in the afternoon, easily disposing of B.C.’s Jim Cotter of Vernon 10-4.
Grattan said both Ontario and Manitoba were far from invincible.
“Both those teams ultimately give you chances from start to finish,” he said.
“It was a bit light and we didn’t get it there,” allowed a disappointed Howard, who won the 2007 Brier but has lost three finals over the span of the last five renewals of the Canadian men’s curling championship.
Grattan, a Brier regular, said the ice was “a little difficult and the more difficult it got favoured our team more than theirs”.
Heavy rain and humidity outside meant the curling ice developed frosty patches on the outsides of every sheet.
“Hey, it’s a good start,” said Grattan, an Air Canada customer service agent at Fredericton airport who plays out of nearby Oromocto.
“Against a team like that you take whatever you can.
The frost buildup, caused by relatively mild, wet weather and a first-draw crowd of 6,392, prompted the Canadian Curling Association to rent and install a portable dehumidification system at the JLC. The dehumidifier will be operational early today and remain in place for the duration of the event.
In other late-shift contests, Quebec’s Francois Gagne of Montreal made a formidable debut, hammering Nova Scotia’s Shawn Adams 10-4 while Jamie Koe of Yellowknife squared his record at 1-1 on the day with an 8-6 decision over Eddie MacKenzie’s Prince Edward Island crew from Charlottetown.
In other first-round assignments, Saskatchewan’s Steve Laycock defeated Koe’s Northwest Territories outfit 6-4 while Brad Gushue of Newfoundland/Labrador hammered MacKenzie 12-1.
Charlottetown’s MacKenzie was matter-of-fact.
“We have to make a lot more shots, that’s for sure,” he said.
The team practised at home after every night draw at the Scotties last week.
“It didn’t show in that game,” said MacKenzie. “I guess we needed a month of it.”
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Here is the draw two media scrum, with post-draw interviews from James Grattan, Kevin Martin and Jeff Stoughton.