Share
Meet the Teams: Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta – Sluchinski, Nova Scotia
Meet the teams competing at the 2024 Montana’s Brier
The 2024 Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI, is slated for March 1-10 at the Brandt Centre in Regina. Eighteen men’s teams will compete in the national curling championship. Meet the teams:
Team Canada
Seeing Brad Gushue and his rinkmates stand on the top platform at national championship, reserved for gold medallists, is becoming a common occurrence.
The Newfoundland and Labrador skip and his team of vice-skip Mark Nichols, second EJ Harnden and lead Geoff Walker will attempt to claim its third straight Montana’s Brier and sixth of the last eight when Canada’s top teams compete in Regina.
Gushue and Co. defeated Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone 7-5 in the 2023 championship final after downing Dunstone 5-4 in the Page 1 vs. 2 game the day previous. It was Gushue’s fifth Montana’s Brier crown, moving him into first place all-time as a skip, one more than Kevin Koe, Ernie Richardson, Randy Ferbey and Kevin Martin.
Gushue is always a formidable opponent at nationals where the skip will make his 21st appearance and 18th straight, an incredible run which includes the five championships, two runner-up finishes and one bronze medal.
Gushue is also the winningest skip in Brier history. Among the Montana’s Brier championships were two back-to-back crowns in 2017-18 and 2022-23. He also competed at four World Championships (the 2020 event was cancelled due to Covid-19), winning once and finishing second three times. Gushue has two Olympic medals, gold in 2006 in Turin with Russ Howard, Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam and bronze in 2022 with Nichols, Brett Gallant and Walker.
This will be Nichols’ 20th appearance at nationals and 12th straight. He also has five gold medals, two silver and a bronze from his Montana’s Brier battles.
Besides last year’s title, Harnden was a member of Brad Jacobs’ Northern Ontario team which won the national championship in 2013 and finished second at Worlds. That team also won gold at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Walker makes his 13th trip to nationals where he, too, is a five-time gold medallist; World champion; and twice a World Junior champion (once as an alternate).
The team, which is 32-12 this season, is coached by Caleb Flaxey.
Team Newfoundland and Labrador
Trailing 3-0 after three ends, Team Andrew Symonds stole the show in the Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard playdowns, swiping a single in the seventh end and two more in the eighth to eventually run former champion Greg Smith out of rocks in the 10th for a 7-5 victory.
The win gives skip Symonds his third trip to the Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI, where he is joined by vice-skip Colin Thomas, second Stephen Trickett and lead Alex Smith, the latter replacing injured Keith Jewer. Dave Noftall was the team alternate.
Team Symonds finished 10-2 during playdowns with one of the losses to defending champion Team Nathan Young, but in a return matchup in the tiebreaker, Symonds made a surgical triple to beat Young in an extra end. Team Symonds rattled off seven straight wins to earn the title.
Trickett and Thomas will be attending their first Montana’s Briers, while Symonds finished 1-7 in 2019, but he also appeared in one game as an alternate in 2011 for Team Brad Gushue.
The most interesting story is Smith’s return to the national men’s championship. His first came an amazing 35 years ago as he played with Team Lorne Henderson, which finished 7-4 in the event which was won by Team Pat Ryan of Alberta. Smith will set a record for the longest span between Montana’s Brier appearances.
Smith most recently played with Mark Noseworthy at the 2023 Everest Canadian Senior Men’s Championship.
“Can’t wait to represent our province at the #Brier in March!” Team Symonds posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Team Symonds, coached by Jeff Thomas, will be the second Newfoundland and Labrador team to compete at the Montana’s Brier as Team Gushue returns as Team Canada.
Team Alberta – Sluchinski
For the first time in 18 years someone not named Kevin or Brendan has claimed the Alberta Tankard.
Aaron Sluchinski saw to that as he and his team of vice-skip Jeremy Harty, second Kerr Drummond, lead Dylan Webster and coach Mickey Pendergast defeated Team Kevin Koe 6-3 in the provincial men’s curling championship.
Kevin Koe, Kevin Martin and Brendan Bottcher captured Alberta crowns the last 18 years – Koe claiming eight titles; Martin six and Bottcher four.
Sluchinski will attend his first ever Montana’s Brier as a regular player. He was the alternate for Bottcher’s Team Canada at the 2022 Montana’s Brier.
It’s been a busy year for Team Sluchinski, running up a 37-23 record, including a 6-1 stretch at provincials. The Airdrie Curling Club team defeated Team Koe 6-2 in the Page 1 vs. 2 game and then in the final.
Sluchinski was the victorious skip at the 2008 Alberta junior championship and claimed bronze at the 2023 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship with partner Brittany Tran.
This will be Harty, Drummond and Webster’s first appearances at the Montana’s Brier.
Harty previously skipped his own teams and was a finalist at the 2016 Alberta junior championship where he was defeated by Team Karsten Sturmay. Team Harty also competed in the 2021 Canadian Pre-Trials but went winless in six games.
Drummond is a native of Scotland and collected silver and bronze medals, respectively, at the 2010 and 2012 World Junior Championships. Drummond played lead with skips Ally Fraser and Kyle Smith, respectively, at those events.
This season Team Sluchinski claimed the Curling Stadium Alberta Tour Kick-off and HUB International Alberta Curling Series events and also qualified for the PointsBet Invitational where the foursome lost to Mike McEwen in its only game.
Team Nova Scotia
Matthew Manuel will make his second-straight trip to the Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI, after claiming the Nova Scotia Tankard, courtesy of a perfect 5-0 run at the provincial championship. Included in that run was three-consecutive wins over Owen Purcell.
Team Manuel defeated Team Purcell 7-5 in pool play, then followed with an 11-7 victory in the Page 1 vs. 2 game and an 8-2 win in the championship final.
Manuel is joined by vice-skip Luke Saunders, second Jeffrey Meagher, lead Nick Zachernuk and Kevin Patterson, the same roster from the 2023 Montana’s Brier. Team Manuel won the 2023 Nova Scotia Tankard with just three players, minus an ailing Meagher.
The Mayflower rink has a 26-17 overall record in 2023-24, including a 4-2 run at the Stu Sells 1824 Halifax Classic in which Team Manuel lost the semi-final 8-6 to Team Felix Asselin of Quebec.
Manuel curled for Nova Scotia in four consecutive Canadian New Holland U-21 championships from 2015-2018. Meagher played third for Canada at the 2023 FISU World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. The team earned bronze with Purcell as skip.
Saunders is the son of six-time Canadian and two-time world champion Colleen Jones and the team is coached by Jones’s long-time teammate Kim Kelly.
Purchase your tickets for the 2024 Montana’s Brier in Regina at https://www.curling.ca/2024brier/tickets/#haveaticket