(TSN Curling Twitter)
Saskatchewan’s Brier drought will go on for another year.
Matt Dunstone and his Regina team of Braeden Moskowy, Kirk Muyres and Dustin Kidby lost 6-5 to Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher in the semifinal at the Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary on Sunday.
A Saskatchewan team hasn’t won the Canadian men’s curling title since Rick Folk in 1980. A rink from the province also hasn’t appeared in the Brier final since 1995, when Brad Heidt lost 10-8 to Manitoba’s Kerry Burtnyk.
Bottcher advanced to his fourth straight Brier final, this time against the Wild Card team skipped by Kevin Koe. Game time is 6:30 p.m. Bottcher lost in each of his previous three final appearances.
REGINA Facing Team Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher in the semi-final of the Canadian Men’s Curling National Championships, Team Matt Dunstone fell 6-5. “There’s nothing to hang our heads about. I mean it was a world class game, they played.we played awesome. The curling Gods were wearing a blue sweater today,” said skip, Matt Dunstone, referring Alberta’s jersey colours. Team Saskatchewan curled a combined 88 per cent, while Alberta was at a total 82 per cent efficiency. The rinks exchanged single points throughout the game, but Saskatchewan’s first error came in the eighth end. With hammer and facing two Alberta red stones, Dunstone was trying to tap Alberta’s rock out of the four foot and stick his own. However, Saskatchewan’s yellow rock rolled out to give up a steal of one.
Saskatoon / 650 CKOM
Mar 15, 2021 11:05 AM
Matt Dunstone s Saskatchewan team finished third at the Tim Hortons Brier for the second straight year. (CurlSask/Twitter)
It wasn’t the result Matt Dunstone’s Saskatchewan foursome wanted at the Tim Hortons Brier, but second Kirk Muyres said the week in Calgary was something the team will never forget.
After finishing 9-3 during round-robin and championship pool play, Dunstone’s team comprising Muyres, lead Dustin Kidby and third Braeden Moskowy placed second in the standings before the three-team playoff Sunday. But Saskatchewan ended up with the same result as the 2020 Brier, though.
A 6-5 loss to Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher left the Regina-based team as the third-place team for a second straight year. Last year, Newfoundland and Labrador snuck past Saskatchewan in the 2-3 Page playoff game en route to its Brier win under Brad Gushue.
Bottcher beats Koe 4-2 to win Canadian men s curling championship for first time
Team Alberta celebrates defeating Team Wild Card Two to win the Brier curling final in Calgary, Alta., Sunday, March 14, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh March 14, 2021 - 10:00 PM
CALGARY - Brendan Bottcher knew it would require a near-flawless performance to deny Kevin Koe a fifth career title at the Canadian men s curling championship.
He was just about perfect Sunday night to finally end a three-year silver streak at the Tim Hortons Brier.
Bottcher shot 97 per cent to lead his Alberta side to a 4-2 victory. Koe s Wild Card Two conceded in the 10th end with no options available to score a game-tying deuce.
I hope we can carry that forward and keep the momentum going this evening.
Bottcher advanced to Sunday night s final against Wild Card Two s Kevin Koe at the Markin MacPhail Centre.
Bottcher has reached the last three Tim Hortons Brier finals but has settled for silver each time. Dunstone was hoping to reach his first career Brier final after winning bronze last year. There s nothing to hang our heads about, Dunstone said. It was a world-class game. They played awesome and we played awesome. The curling gods were wearing a blue sweater today. That s all there is to it. It totally stinks but this isn t the end of us.