Gushue defeats Dunstone to capture record fifth Brier Tankard in seven years

Brad Gushue has done it again at the Tim Hortons Brier and now stands alone as the most decorated male skip in Canadian history.  

For the fifth time in the past seven years, Gushue and his rink from St. John’s, Nfld., are Canadian men’s curling champions after downing Matt Dunstone and his team from Manitoba, 7-5, in Sunday’s final from Budweiser Gardens in London. 

Facing two Manitoba shot stones with the last throw of the game, Gushue executed the tough draw between two guards to sit in the back of the four-foot and win the title for a second consecutive year.

"I was overthrowing them a little bit in that game and I tried on that one not to overthrow it. Even with the adrenaline," Gushue, who shot 91 per cent, told the media immediately after the win. 

"What a finish. What a game."

With the victory, Gushue has now won five Brier Tankards in his career, passing Ernie Richardson, Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin and Kevin Koe for the most won by a skip.

The 42-year-old said the achievement was "cool" but was more excited his rink got to celebrate another national championship with their new teammate in E.J. Harnden. 

"When E.J. came on to the team he wanted to get this again, this Brier," said the skip. "They've had so many close runs when he played with Brad Jacobs. To finish it off and get it for him, and obviously for myself, Mark and Geoff to get five, it's pretty awesome." 

Gushue, third Mark Nichols and lead Geoff Walker have won five times together, capturing their first in 2017 on home soil in St. John’s. This was the inaugural title as a member of Team Gushue for Harnden, who replaced second Brett Gallant this summer following his departure to Alberta.

Harnden, 39, also won a Canadian championship in 2013 as a member of Brad Jacobs’ rink from Sault Ste. Marie.

"This is why I wanted to keep playing," said Harnden. "I said to the guys 'I want one more. At least one more Brier.' And I got it in the first year. So man, to be apart of this team is so special. I feel so grateful." 

One of the storylines within the final was the battle between E.J. and his brother Ryan Harnden, the lead for Team Dunstone.

"It was hard. I'm cried out now, so that's good," said Harnden. 

The London Brier marked the first time the brothers and longtime teammates were not on the same team at the national championship after going their separate ways at the end of last season. 

"I'm so happy we won, but at the same time, it is really hard," said Harnden. "We support one another, but if it wasn't going to be me, I wanted it to be him. And I'm glad it was me." 

The turning point came in the eighth end when Gushue made a takeout with his last throw to score three, which gave Canada a commanding 6-3 lead. It was the first multi-point end of the Brier final.

Dunstone almost saved the end with a nice hit and roll that just came up short from nose-freezing on Gushue’s stone in the four-foot. 

Manitoba stayed alive with a deuce in the ninth end, needing a steal in the 10th to force an extra end.

Gushue was named Brier MVP for the fifth time in his career as well. 

Gushue and company will now represent Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Ottawa from April 1-9. Team Gushue fell to Sweden's Team Niklas Edin in last year's men's worlds final in Las Vegas. 

"When the pressure is on this team really plays well," said Nichols. "We kind of rally around each other to do that." 

Scoring came at a premium for most of Sunday’s final.

The two sides traded single scores for six straight ends following an opening blank by Canada.

Team Dunstone – also featuring third B.J. Neufeld, second Colton Lott and lead Harnden – were looking to capture Manitoba’s first Brier title since 2011 when Jeff Stoughton won the third and final national championship of his career, also taking place in London.

"I'm just really proud of my team," said Dunstone, who shot 88 per cent in the final. "What we did. I mean we were down and out after the eighth end. We made him throw a tough shot to win the Brier. It just speaks volumes about this team." 

It’s been an emotional past few days for 27-year-old Dunstone.

He made a pistol through the port to beat Team Brendan Bottcher, representing Wild Card 1, in Friday’s page-seeding round before missing a game-winner Saturday night against Team Gushue in the 1 vs. 2-page playoff. Manitoba punched their ticket to the final earlier Sunday with a win over Team Bottcher in the semi-final.

"They're an incredible team," said Gushue, describing Dunstone's rink. "He's going to win this very soon."

This was Dunstone’s first appearance in the Brier final after losing back-to-back semifinals in 2020 and 2021 to Bottcher and Gushue, respectively, as a representative of Saskatchewan.

"This team is ready," said Dunstone after the loss. "We've proven that we're ready. We're going to come back hungrier." 

Dunstone, a Winnipeg native who lives in Kamloops, was representing Manitoba at the Brier for the first time in his career. 

Gushue won last year’s tournament as a three-man team after Nichols missed the playoffs with a bout of COVID-19.

It marks the third time Team Canada has won Brier.