Defending champ Gushue, McEwen and Jacobs all clinch playoff spots at Brier

KELOWNA, B.C. - Three-time defending champion Brad Gushue is picking up where he left off at the Montana's Brier. 

His St. John's, N.L.-based team (7-0) was the first to secure a playoff berth with a 7-6 victory over Alberta's Kevin Koe on Wednesday at Prospera Place. 

Two other playoff spots were booked later in the day. Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen (7-0) locked up a spot with a 7-2 win over Rylan Kleiter and Alberta's Brad Jacobs (6-0) did the same with an 11-5 rout of Ontario's Sam Mooibroek. 

In the evening, Reid Carruthers (6-2) missed a chance to secure a berth when he dropped an 8-6 decision to Matt Dunstone in an all-Manitoba battle. Dunstone (6-1) broke open a close game with a four-ender in the eighth. 

"Giving four points to a team like that, you're in big trouble," Carruthers said. "It was a straight spot and I was a little bit wide on my throw and just got crucified."

Northern Ontario's John Epping (5-2) was in fourth place in Pool A after posting a 9-6 win over Newfoundland and Labrador's Ty Dilello. The top three teams in each pool at the end of round-robin play Thursday night will make the cut.

After McEwen and Jacobs, four rinks — Kleiter, Mooibroek, Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell and Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard — were tied for third place in Pool B at 3-3.

Koe pushed Gushue hard in the early draw, taking advantage of a miss in the 10th end to score a deuce and force an extra. The Calgary skip was a little wide with his final draw into a crowded house and the teams shook hands.

"We kept our composure," said Gushue said. "When rocks didn't turn out, we didn't get negative."

Gushue, who also defeated Nunavut's Shane Latimer 12-3, is trying to win the national men's curling championship for a record seventh time. He'll close out his round-robin schedule Thursday against Dunstone with first place in Pool A on the line.

It's the second straight year that Koe (3-4), a four-time Brier champion, will miss the playoff cut. 

"It's frustrating," he said. "Last year, we were just brutal and we lost. This year, we played quite well and we could have won a few (more) games. Any time you lose at the Brier it's (tough)."

Koe beat New Brunswick's James Grattan 10-4 in the evening. 

"We feel like we should be a playoff team but there's going to be two good teams in our pool that don't get there," Koe said. "Not to disrespect anyone else, but we're one of them. 

"We actually played well but it's a fine line when you're playing the best teams and we have just been slightly off."

Purcell edged Menard 7-6 and Prince Edward Island's Tyler Smith topped Aaron Bartling of the Northwest Territories 10-5.

The Dunstone-Carruthers matchup had some added juice with third B.J. Neufeld meeting his former teammates after they parted ways with him in December. E.J. Harnden later joined the Dunstone team after his mid-season departure from Gushue's rink.

"It was a little strange obviously just given the newness of the last few months," Dunstone said. "But three-quarters of that team is former teammates of mine. So … it was just a little bit different given the circumstances of this season."

Qualification games are set for Friday ahead of the Page playoffs. The final will be played Sunday night. 

Gushue vice Mark Nichols and lead Geoff Walker also have six career Brier titles. Second Brendan Bottcher, who joined the team mid-season, is looking for his second career national crown. 

The Brier winner will represent Canada at the BKT world men's curling championship starting March 29 in Moose Jaw, Sask. 

Rachel Homan won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts last month in Thunder Bay, Ont. Her Ottawa-based team will wear the Maple Leaf at the women's world playdowns starting March 15 in Uijeongbu, South Korea.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2025.