The Tim Hortons Brier, presented by Mosaic, comes to Regina’s Brandt Centre at Evraz Place this March 3-11. Get to know the teams that will compete for the Tim Hortons Brier crown this year.
Canada
Brad Gushue is back at the Tim Hortons Brier, but this time as Team Canada. Gushue’s appearance in Regina will round out his Tim Hortons Brier appearances to a smooth total of 15.
In 2017, Gushue defeated defending champion Kevin Koe 7-6 in the Tim Hortons Brier final. Now he will be the one with the target – aka Maple Leaf – on his back as Team Canada.
It will be difficult to top the significant feeling of last year’s Tim Hortons Brier run. Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker won the national championship in front of their home province and capped it off with gold at the world curling championship. Those victories eluded Gushue for a long time but with them he now possesses an impressive curling resume when it comes to international competition.
Prior to last year’s victory, Gushue made the final on two occasions. Once in a 2007 loss to Glenn Howard, followed by a defeat by Koe in 2016. While Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist, had his dreams of representing Canada in Pyeongchang dashed, a victory at the Tim Hortons Brier will be a cherished consolation prize.
Quebec
Mike Fournier ended Jean-Michel Ménard’s five-year run at Tim Hortons Brier in grand style.
Fournier, third Félix Asselin, second William Dion and lead Jean-François Trépanier stole singles in the ninth and 10th ends to defeat Ménard 7-5 in the final. The entire line-up will make their Tim Hortons Brier debuts in Regina.
Team Fournier finished the initial provincial championship round robin with a flawless 6-0 record, which secured their spot in the championship pool. But that’s where the team encountered some challenges. Fournier lost the next three games in the pool, but still secured a spot in the playoffs due to the strong play in the initial round robin.
Fournier won the semifinal game with a 7-6 win against Vincent Roberge. His team followed up in the semifinal with an outstanding come-from-behind win. Fournier trailed Martin Ferland 7-2 after four ends, but scored three in the fifth, en route to tying the game 8-8 after 10 ends and stealing one in the extra for a 9-8 win. The victory gave Fournier confidence heading into the final game.
The skip had two previous runs to the provincial title, both of which were halted by Ménard – in the 2014 semifinal and 2015 final.
Fournier represented Quebec at the 2013 and 2014 Mixed National Curling Championship. His best finish was in 2013 when he reached the semifinal.
Asselin will make the first of what he hopes to be many trips to the Tim Hortons Brier. The young curler has represented Quebec at the Canadian juniors four times in his career.
Dion is the 2008 Canadian junior curling champion and won bronze at that year’s world championship as Team Canada. Dion also plays football. The kicker played his university career with Sherbrooke, then was signed, and released, by the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes in 2013.
New Brunswick
James Grattan returns to the Tim Hortons Brier for the first time since 2014. The skip defeated Terry Odishaw 10-4 in the Papa John’s Pizza Tankard, New Brunswick’s provincial men’s curling championship.
After scoring a single in the first, Grattan took control of the game in the third end with a score of four points. He tacked on a steal of one in the fifth for an early 6-0 lead.
Grattan, third Chris Jeffrey, second Andy McCann and lead Peter Case finished the round robin in a four-way tie for second place, which triggered a tiebreaker for the final two spots in the three-team playoff. Grattan beat Charlie Sullivan 5-3 in the tiebreaker and Jeremy Mallais 7-2 in the semifinal.
Grattan has had two third-place finishes at the Tim Hortons Brier, both happened to be in Calgary. In 2002 Grattan played third for Russ Howard where the team lost to John Morris (Ontario) in the semifinal. In 1997 Grattan skipped New Brunswick, losing the semifinal to Manitoba’s Vic Peters.
Grattan’s last appearance at the men’s national championship was in 2014 (which also happened to be in Calgary). The team finished with a 6-5 record.
2018 Tim Hortons Brier single draw and full-event packages are now available for purchase. Don’t miss out and get yours today at: https://www.curling.ca/2018brier/tickets/