For the third time in 16 years, Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton is one victory shy of his second world curling championship. When Stoughton skips his Canadian champion team of Jon Mead, Reid Carruthers and Steve Gould in Sunday’s 5 p.m. world championship final at the Brandt Centre, the Manitobans will be looking for a second global success and Canada’s 33rd world title in 53 challenges.
And, if you listen to Scotland’s Tom Brewster, Stoughton will be directing the strongest curling machine he ever has put together.
“That’s his best team, no doubt,” said Brewster in the wake of a tedious 5-2 loss to Stoughton in the Ford Worlds Page One-Two playoff Friday night.
“You’re talking about one of the best 10 or 12 curlers in Canadian history, you know? He has a third who knows him so very well. The two of them throw the same. It’s a devastating back end. And the rest of the team? I’ve watched Jeff for a long time and that’s the best lineup I’ve ever seen him bring to the ice.”
Stoughton and Co., face roughly 44 hours of respite prior to the championship’s climactic tussle while Scotland and two other teams will squabble Saturday over who will oppose the home-country four at the last gasp.
Brewster, with his second loss of the scenario to Canada, dropped into the semi-final match at 5 p.m. against the winner of a Sweden-Norway playoff match, the Page Three-Four, set for 12:30 p.m. The Three-Four losers drops to Sunday’s bronze-medal scrap at 12 noon against the semi-final loser.