It has been a roller-coaster week for Seven Mile Bay native Adam Casey and his Manitoba teammates at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier.
Casey is playing the third position for the Jason Gunnlaugson-skipped rink out of the Morris Curling Club at this week’s Canadian men’s curling championship in Calgary.
Manitoba third Adam Casey, centre, lead Connor Njegovan, left, and second Matt Wozniak follow the action at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men’s curling championship in Calgary this weekend. – Contributed
Manitoba won its first five games, before dropping three close contests to close out the round-robin schedule 5-3 (won-lost). That was good enough to advance to the championship pool.
“Everybody is throwing it very close to where we want to be throwing it,” Casey told The Guardian in a phone interview. “We are having a lot of fun.”
Saturday, Manitoba will take on the Wild-Card Two’s Kevin Koe and Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone.
Playoffs
The top three teams after Saturday advance to the playoffs on Sunday. The first-place rink advances to the final while the second-and-third-place rinks meet in a semifinal game.
“This field is so deep, but against the top teams, in particular, you have to play incredibly well, and the games are decided by a few key shots.”
– Adam Casey
The Brier marks the first time Team Gunnlaugson has played together as a team all season due to COVID-19. Second Matt Wozniak joined the rink in the off-season. Connor Njegovan handles the lead’s responsibilities.
“We showed up in the bubble and got down to business,” said Casey. “Matt and I have rooms side by side, and we weren’t allowed to leave our rooms the first 2 ½ days.
“We spent the evenings out on the deck hamming it up, getting to know each other and what to expect from each other on the ice and try to build that bond. The four of us are gelling, and I have a great relationship with the other three guys. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Click for the full story by Jason Simmonds in the Journal Pioneer