McEwen downs Howard to capture Ontario; NL's Young, NO's Horgan also Brier bound

Mike McEwen defeated Glenn Howard 8-3 to win the Ontario men's curling championship Sunday and qualify for the Tim Hortons Brier.

McEwen stole four points over the first three ends and scored another three in the fifth in Port Elgin where Howard shook hands after seven ends. McEwen has represented Manitoba in seven Canadian men's championships during his career.

In other men's provincial and territorial finals Sunday, Nathan Young defeated Greg Smith 8-6 to win Newfoundland and Labrador, Tyler Smith earned Prince Edward Island's crown with a 9-5 victory over Darren Higgins, and Tanner Horgan beat Sandy MacEwan 7-5 to take Northern Ontario.

In Nova Scotia, Owen Purcell's 8-7 win in an extra end over Matthew Manuel forced a rematch Monday to determine that provincial champion. In the final, Manuel defeated Purcell to advance to the London Brier as Team Nova Scotia. 

McEwen, Young, Smith and Horgan joined Jacques Gauthier (B.C.), Felix Asselin (Quebec), Thomas Scoffin (Yukon) and Jake Higgs (Nunavut) already qualified for the national championship March 3-12 in London, Ont.

Defending champion Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., returns as Team Canada.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories hold their playdowns next month.

Three wild-card entries in the 18-team Brier field will come from the top three non-qualified teams in the Canadian Team Rankings System (CTRS) at the conclusion of provincial and territorial championships.

Alberta's Brendan Bottcher, Manitoba's Matt Dunstone, Gushue, Alberta's Kevin Koe and Manitoba's Reid Carruthers ranked first to fifth Sunday.

The Brier champion will wear the Maple Leaf in the world men's championship April 1-9 in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2023.