Giants clash tonight for top spot in pool at Montana’s Brier

It’s going to take one final draw to sort out who’s in and who’s out of the playoffs in Pool A at the Montana’s Brier, presented by AGI, in Regina.

Four teams which ran tightly bunched at the top of the standings all week were still there after Thursday morning’s draw, so it will come down to one climactic session at the Brandt Centre to pry them apart.

All eyes will be on the game between Team Alberta-Bottcher (6-1, Calgary) and Team Manitoba-Carruthers (6-1, Winnipeg) who won their games Thursday morning and will meet eyeball-to-eyeball in a heavyweight bout.

“There’s a lot on the line. It’s huge. Those guys are playing well,” said skip Brendan Bottcher who guided his Team Alberta-Bottcher to a 9-4 win over skip Catlin Schneider’s Team British Columbia (4-4, Victoria), knocking the West Coasters to the sidelines. “Definitely getting into the top half of the playoffs sets you up. Not only giving you an extra life along the way but giving you some advantages. It’s super helpful.”

Skip Brad Jacobs sees it the same way after Team Manitoba-Carruthers got past skip Thomas Scoffin’s Team Yukon (1-6, Whitehorse) 6-4.

After the final results were tallied on Thursday morning, Team Manitoba-Carruthers did guarantee its spot in the six-team playoffs. However, a win tonight will help cushion the team from Winnipeg on its path to the Montana’s Brier championship.

“Huge game tonight, can’t wait,” said Jacobs. “That’s the game we’ve been looking forward to the most this week. That’s because they’re obviously a great team, they work real hard, there’s no weaknesses on that team. That’s going to be a real test for us.”

Team Manitoba-Carruthers scored a five-ender to jump into the lead in the second end, but Yukon refused to buckle. Scoffin made a great freeze on the button to steal one in the ninth to narrow the gap to 6-4, but was put away in the 10th. 

“It was kind of an annoying game,” said Jacobs. “We got the five early. It’s one of those things where I said to the guys it’s one of these situations where it’s best to just stay aggressive, keep your foot on the gas pedal because if you get into hit mode, the other team makes a bunch of shots and we have to make a draw, it could get a little nervewracking.”

Skip Matt Dunstone’s Team Manitoba-Dunstone (5-2, Winnipeg) pulled out a dandy 8-3 win over Team Northern Ontario (5-2, Thunder Bay) setting up key games for both teams tonight. Team Manitoba-Dunstone takes on Team Newfoundland & Labrador (1-6, St. John’s), skipped by Andrew Symonds, while Team Northern Ontario tangles with Team Yukon.

So, four teams are left alive, and only the top three make the playoffs. Something’s got to give tonight.

Dunstone came up with the shot of the morning when he played a tough slash raise to the button for one. At one point before he threw his stone, Dunstone had wondered how he was going to score, with a Northern Ontario stone locked in biting the button behind cover.

The point extended Team Manitoba-Dunstone’s lead to 5-2 and was the turning point of the game.

Dunstone, who lost last season’s Montana’s Brier final in London, Ont., knew the significance of the shot.

“Give up a steal and suddenly the game gets a little tighter,” he said. “For it to be a one-point game would be a momentum swing. Those are the shots you have to make to win here. We had our best team game of the week today.

“Staying alive. We’re continuing to trend in the right direction. We won the first of two we had to win and tonight is no different.”

Meanwhile, in a game for pride, Team Newfoundland & Labrador posted a 10-4 win over skip James Grattan’s Team New Brunswick (0-7, Oromocto).

The Montana’s Brier winner will represent Canada at the men’s world championship, March 30 to April 7, in Schaffhausen, Switzerland.

The 2024 Montana’s Brier continues Thursday with draws at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (all times Central Standard).

Live scoring, standings and statistics for the 2024 Montana’s Brier are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/

TSN and RDS will provide complete coverage of the 2024 Montana’s Brier. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule. Live coverage is also available for international streaming on TSN’s YouTube channel.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at https://www.curling.ca/?lang=fr