Kevin Koe punched his ticket to the Canadian Open final edging Glenn Howard 4-3 in the extra end Saturday night in Medicine Hat, Alta.
Koe, who won Brier and world championships in 2010, fired a clutch final rock that just held onto the back four to grab shot stone and the victory.
The Calgary rink will now face 2006 Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue [whose team includes PEI natives Brett Gallant and Adam Casey] for the Grand Slam title. Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., held the hammer in the final end and earned shot rock with his last stone to clinch a 4-2 victory and eliminate Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton.
Watch the Canadian Open final between Team Gushue and Team Koe on CBC at 2 p.m. Atlantic on Sunday.
Howard’s last stone in the first overcurled and Koe had a chance for three but his rock rolled too deep and he settled for two to open the scoring. Howard, a 15-time Grand Slam winner, blanked three consecutive ends, however, his final shot in the fifth clonked his own guard and he was forced to take one instead of landing a deuce.
Koe reclaimed the two-point lead with a single in the sixth end with a hit-and-stick final shot but couldn’t close it in the eighth after his last shot flashed and Howard scored a double to tie it up.
Howard, from Penetanguishene, Ont., won the first leg of the Grand Slam two weeks ago at the Masters but will not be able to complete the sweep for the $1-million bonus.