James Grattan of New Brunswick (Oromocto 1-1) tangled with Matt Dunstone of Saskatchewan (Regina, 1-1) in Draw 3 of the Tim Hortons Brier, presented by AGI.
Gratton and his team dominated the first half of the game, building a 5-1 lead that flattered the Dunstone foursome.
Saskatchewan skip Matt Dunstone takes aim during Sunday’s win over New Brunswick. (Photo, Curling Canada/Michael Burns)
Dunstone, at 24, is the second youngest skip here and was still in diapers when Grattan, 45, made his first Brier skipping appearance in 1997 at Calgary, where he won a bronze medal. The veteran had the kid under huge pressure to begin the game and Dunstone had to bail out his team twice in the early going. In the first end he hit a perfectly executed triple takeout to hold New Brunswick to a deuce. However, Dunstone was off on both his draw attempts in the second, allowing Grattan to steal one.
In the third, Dunstone needed another triple takeout facing five New Brunswick counters to turn around the end and eventually get on the scoreboard with a single. New Brunswick responded with two in the fourth.
Then suddenly the switch flipped and Dunstone, third Braeden Moskowy, second Catlin Schneider, lead Dustin Kidby and coach Adam Kingsbury, outscored New Brunswick 9-1 in the next six ends for a stunning 10-6 win.
On another sheet at Leon’s Centre, Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario (Sault Ste. Marie, 1-1) scored three in the ninth to beat Bryan Cochrane of Prince Edward Island (Cornwall, 1-1) 6-2;