Canada’s Team Brad Gushue entered the Pan Continental Curling Championships playoffs flying high again with a perfect 7-0 record through round-robin play. A day later, the double-defending champions had missed the podium altogether.
Team Gushue was sharp throughout the week in Lacombe, Alta., but its final two opponents were just a tad sharper. Canada fell 8-4 to Japan’s Team Shinya Abe during Thursday’s semifinals and 10-8 to Team John Shuster of the United States in Friday’s bronze match.
Canada was close in the shooting percentages in both games. However, its opponents’ misses weren’t quite as costly.
Japan struck the scoreboard first with a steal of two after Gushue’s draw shot hit a guard and had Canada in chase mode. It was the first time all week an opponent scored in the opening end against Canada. Although Gushue recovered to take two back in the second, Canada couldn’t upend Japan as Team Abe never trailed. Down 6-4 in the ninth, Gushue attempted a tricky double to possibly score three but missed to give up another steal of two that put the game, and a spot in the final, out of reach.
“Absolutely, there’s disappointment,” Gushue said in a Curling Canada release. “Personally, I felt like I didn’t have a very good game. Disappointed that I let the guys down. Disappointed I let myself down. … It’s just disappointing that our worst game was in the semifinals.”
Canada still had a bronze medal to play for and once again had the hammer to start. Shuster kept pace out of the gate though and momentum swung in the fourth end as Canada struggled and Gushue’s last rock was left open enough for the American skip to knock it out and score a key three points plus a 5-4 lead.
It looked like Gushue had a chance to pull back into the lead in the fifth, but his shooter had to stick around and rolled out instead to only count one. From there, whatever Team Gushue threw, it seemed like Team Shuster had an answer to match.
Shuster forced Gushue to a single in the ninth to take a 9-8 lead and the hammer into the final end, and the 2018 Olympic champion drew to the button to add another medal to his trophy case.
“I feel a whole lot better about this loss than yesterday (losing to Japan in the semifinals) because I felt like we threw a lot of good rocks,” Gushue told Curling Canada. “We didn’t get the results that we probably deserved for some of our throws, but they played well and credit to them. They came out and played a strong game against us.”
Team Gushue was the top-ranked club in the event at No. 3 in the world, but it was the first since former skip Brendan Bottcher joined at second. It’s understandable if the team needed to take one step back to take two steps forward and the Pan Continental Curling Championships was the perfect tournament for that.
Although the event serves as a qualifier for the world championship, Canada has already qualified on the men’s side as the host country. The only thing at stake really was not finishing last and getting relegated to the B-Division next year, which in all honesty isn’t something Canada needs to worry about. Gushue ensured that wouldn’t be the case with a relatively pressure-free opening day scoring 10-3 and 17-1 blowout wins over South Korea and Taiwan, respectively.
Also, only a team’s best four results count toward the world rankings at this point in the season. Gushue already has his quota filled with solid finishes on tour. The lower strength-of-field points multiplier at the Pan Continental Curling Championships, compared to say a Grand Slam of Curling event, meant Gushue wouldn’t be leaving as many points on the table if his team underperformed.
“It was a really good first event,” said Bottcher, who led all seconds during round-robin play shooting 92.7 per cent. “I think we have a few things we can build on, and I’m looking forward to the next one.
“I thought the team dynamic was great out of the gate. We had a lot of fun throughout the course this week, which showed out on the ice. We put together a lot of really good games, so there’s lots of positives.”
FIRST END: Canada is guaranteed a medal in the women’s division as Team Rachel Homan will take on South Korea’s Team Eunji Gim for gold Saturday.
Team Homan also charged through round-robin play undefeated at 7-0 and fended off China’s Team Rui Wang 6-5 in an extra end during Friday’s semifinals.
Homan holds a 25-2 record on the season, including a decisive 8-2 victory over Gim earlier in the week.
While Homan finished last season with an outstanding 67-7 record, two of those losses came against Gim in the KIOTI National women’s final and world championship round-robin play. Still, Homan holds nine wins in 11 all-time meetings between the skips and should be the favourite as Canada looks to win the Pan Continental women’s title for the first time.
SECOND END: Brad Jacobs picked up his first tour title with his new club this past Monday at the Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic in Penticton, B.C.
Jacobs joined forces with third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert after leaving Reid Carruthers’s team during the off-season. The Calgary-based trio played with Bottcher during the previous two seasons and decided to move in a different direction kickstarting the musical chairs of lineup changes.
Kennedy said during a phone interview Tuesday that it feels good to get their first title win as a team following a couple of tough results.
“It wasn’t always pretty or easy,” Kennedy said. “We got a couple of breaks and took advantage of a couple mistakes in a round-robin game against Korea to get a four-ender in the seventh end that helped us win our pool. A bit of a strange weekend, a bit of a grind, probably not the best we’ve played all year, but we were really resilient and got some really timely skip shots out of Brad in the last couple days and I think that made the biggest difference.”
You’ve seen it before. Jacobs comes through in the clutch with a huge shot and fist-pumps ensue.
“That’s the guy we signed up,” Kennedy said. “We know he is that guy, he’s going to be there in the big moments, and he certainly was in Penticton. It was nice to see.”
It was also big for the team to get back in the win column after missing the playoffs the previous week during the Henderson Metal Fall Classic in Jacobs’s hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
“Brad said it in a little bit of our debrief last night, just that he was proud of our resilience,” Kennedy said. “It would have been easy after the Soo to have another rough weekend and maybe not qualify again against a really good field, but we really battled hard and stayed resilient in some tough games and sometimes some tough conditions. It was very good ice but again it’s curling club ice, so it’s a little bit unpredictable.
“We had some tough moments, but I think we all showed different leadership at times to make sure everybody stayed positive and fought through it. We kind of waited for a couple of breaks, and when we got them, we capitalized, which is something we haven’t been great at the past few weeks.
“It’s good. We’re still learning a lot as a team. It feels like we’re a brand new team when you bring Brad on and we’re ironing out some of the kinks, but I think we’re really developing a strong identity.”
THIRD END: Kennedy is in a unique position on the team having played with Jacobs from 2019-22 and had a feeling reigniting that chemistry would work out well. He said the team dynamic has been fantastic as everyone is getting along great with the same goals and working their tails off.
“I think it was the biggest challenge for Brad coming into an established system as the skip wanting to be a leader but also not wanting to step on too many toes, so he’s had to walk that fine line and try to find that right balance,” Kennedy said. “I think he’s done a great job. He’s very mentally strong. He’s got lots of great leadership qualities, and they’ve really shown up. We’re playing hard for him, and I know that he’s playing really hard for us. We’re just going to keep getting better here, so it’s good.”
FOURTH END: Carruthers has also been on the rebound. His Winnipeg-based team went one-and-done during the single-elimination PointsBet Invitational in late September and 0-3 the following week in the HearingLife Tour Challenge. Carruthers bounced back, reaching the quarterfinals in the Henderson Metal Fall Classic and Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic.
“I feel like we’re starting to get a little bit more consistent with our results and just our overall performance,” Carruthers said during a phone interview Thursday. “We definitely haven’t reached our peak, but we’ve had flashes of playing some really solid curling over a few game stretches. I’m excited about the direction we’re heading for sure.”
Carruthers dropped to No. 15 in the world rankings after the HearingLife Tour Challenge — almost in the drop zone and in danger of missing future Grand Slam events — but has vaulted up to No. 11 thanks to the past two weekends providing some insurance.
“The Slams are the best events out there as far as the World Curling Tour goes. You’re playing for the biggest purses against the best teams, and it’s also the most points of any of the tour events aside from the world championship and Brier championship. There isn’t any tour event that gets as many points for the winner or even the qualifiers,” Carruthers said. “To play well in those events is ultra important, but one of the first steps is to be in them, and it’s not easy. There’s going to be some very good teams that are not in the next couple of Grand Slams. It’s not quite the same as it used to be because I feel as with the amount of really, really strong international competition now, it’s made qualifying in the Grand Slams and for the Grand Slams a lot more difficult.”
FIFTH END: Following Jacobs’s departure, Carruthers returned to skipping the squad with Saskatchewan’s Catlin Schneider joining as an import at third. There’s been a lot for them to learn in a short period according to Carruthers.
“The fact that it is year three of the (Olympic) quad is a bit of a disadvantage because some of these teams have been together for the entire quad already, so they’ve had more time to gel as a unit,” he said. “We’re playing a decent amount, so I think that will help our learning curve a little bit, come maybe a little bit quicker because we’re getting lots of reps in. We’re trying to balance that out with as much practice as possible, too.”
SIXTH END: Next up for Team Jacobs and Team Carruthers is the Co-op Canadian Open, which starts Tuesday in Nisku, Alta., and both are looking to carry those positive vibes into the second Grand Slam of the season.
“The first few months was trying to get a feel for the new team, the new look and we’re starting to get results,” Carruthers said. “We’re definitely building some momentum. I’d say the first third of the season is done. The next couple thirds are the very, very important ones, so we’re trending in the right direction and, hopefully, at the right time.”
Kennedy echoed those sentiments with his team now having a title victory in the books.
“We got that first win, the monkey off our back, which was important for us,” said Kennedy, who is from St. Albert, Alta. “I think we can play a little bit more relaxed and loose now. … We’re starting to roll a little bit, and hopefully, that momentum can carry forward from Penticton.
“We’re excited and it’s close to home for me, which is awesome. I’ll have some family and friends there, it’s a beautiful arena, so we’re looking forward to one of the best Slams of the year.”
It’s funny how the schedule has worked out for Team Jacobs and having some home support. The PointsBet Invitational was held in Calgary, close to where Gallant and Hebert live, while the HearingLife Tour Challenge took place in Gallant’s original hometown of Charlottetown.
“We had a tough finish in P.E.I. (losing to Team Matt Dunstone) in a quarterfinal game that we had control of. Obviously, Brad didn’t quite get the result he wanted at home in the Soo last week, so maybe we can capitalize in my hometown,” Kennedy said. “That would be nice. … I think they’ll get good crowds and man, it’s just going to be an awesome event as usual, some of the best curling in the world, so we’re looking forward to getting going.”
Fun fact: The original Jacobs-Kennedy team reached the quarterfinals in their first Grand Slam together, falling to Dunstone no less, before winning three straight. Just saying, in case history repeats itself.
SEVENTH END: Carruthers also coaches Kerri Einarson’s team, which has faced some unusual setbacks to start the season. Second Shannon Birchard is recovering from a knee injury while lead Briane Harris is awaiting a decision on her appeal after testing positive for a banned substance.
Alternate Krysten Karwacki has stepped in at lead in the interim. It’s been a revolving door at second though as Laura Walker subbed during the PointsBet Invitational and Dawn McEwen pitched in to help Team Einarson capture the HearingLife Tour Challenge. Joanne Courtney joins them this weekend for the Saville Grand Prix in her hometown of Edmonton plus next week’s Co-op Canadian Open.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity,” Carruthers said. “At this point, I kind of feel like we’re pretty much ready for anything and our mindset has maybe changed a little bit to embrace it and go with the flow. I feel like I see the core of the team has got some confidence, we’ve had some great spares fill in and that continues this weekend alone when the girls are bringing in Joanne.”
Carruthers added it was a “pretty easy decision” to bring in Courtney for the two events once they knew Birchard needed more time to recuperate.
Courtney captured eight Grand Slam titles with Homan and also won the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the world championship in 2017 with the team. She’s not only a former teammate of Einarson’s third Val Sweeting but also played mixed doubles with Carruthers, winning a Canadian title and silver medal at the worlds.
EIGHTH END: Team Einarson even had a spare coach for the HearingLife Tour Challenge final. Longtime friend and former teammate Mike McEwen took over on the bench for Carruthers, who had an early flight to Toronto and followed the game while waiting for his connection. Einarson defeated Homan 5-4 to earn her sixth career Grand Slam title.
“I was watching that game from the airport, kind of pacing around watching, but Mike did an awesome job,” Carruthers said. “I know he was a little bit nervous because he was kind of being thrown into a big event and having to make some important decisions, but it’s no different than skipping. We all knew he could handle that and I thought he did a great job.”
