Brier field complete after Alberta, Manitoba winners crowned

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Veteran savvy played a big part in rounding out the field for the 2025 Brier.

That and a little bit of luck, say skips Kevin Koe and Reid Carruthers after winning their respective men’s provincials in Alberta and Manitoba.

“Could have been better,” admitted Koe, despite capturing the Boston Pizza Cup on Sunday at the Stettler Recreation Centre. “We got a couple breaks, especially early in the event.

“But as the event went on, we got better.”

In the end, Koe’s Calgary crew from The Glencoe Club proved to be the best, downing Edmonton’s Evan Van Amsterdam 9-7 in the finale.

It’s a ninth Alberta title for the 50-year-old Koe, who earns the crown this year with third Aaron Sluchinski, second Tyler Tardi, lead Karrick Martin and alternate Mike Libbus.

For 40-year-old Carruthers, who scores his 13th trip to the Brier, he needed good fortune at the end of his title push Sunday at the Viterra Championship in Portage la Prairie, Man.

The veteran skip and his Granite Curling Club squad defeated Braden Calvert 9-7 in a battle of Winnipeg rinks, but not until after Calvert missed a double hit with his final stone of the 10th end in what was shaping up to be crazy comeback for the younger skip and his Fort Rouge Curling Club side.

“We were fortunate to get the win,” Carruthers told The Winnipeg Sun’s Gordon Anderson. “After getting up by five, we let them back into the game — and they made some great shots to do that.”

In the end, however, it’s Carruthers, Catlin Schneider, BJ Neufeld, Connor Njegovan and Kyle Doering getting the nod to represent Manitoba at the Brier — just as Koe will do for Alberta — from Feb. 28-March 9 in Kelowna, B.C.

THE BRIER FIELD AND POOLS

Pool A

1. Team Canada, Brad Gushue (Mark Nichols, Brendan Bottcher, Geoff Walker, Adam Casey, Jeff Hoffart; St. John’s, N.L.)
4. Manitoba-Dunstone, Matt Dunstone (Colton Lott, E.J. Harnden, Ryan Harnden, Adam Kingsbury, Caleb Flaxey; Winnipeg)
5. Northern Ontario, John Epping (Jacob Horgan, Tanner Horgan, Ian McMillan, Mike Harris; Sudbury)
8. Alberta-Koe, Kevin Koe (Aaron Sluchinski, Tyler Tardi, Karrick Martin, Mike Libbus, John Dunn; Calgary)
9. Manitoba-Carruthers, Reid Carruthers (B.J. Neufeld, Catlin Schneider, Connor Njegovan, Kyle Doering, Rob Meakin; Winnipeg)
12. British Columbia, Cameron de Jong (Alex Horvath, Corey Chester, Brayden Carpenter, Paul Cseke, Bryan Miki; Victoria)
13. New Brunswick, James Grattan (Joel Krats, Paul Dobson, Andy McCann, Drew Grattan, Dean Grattan; Oromocto)
16. Newfoundland/Labrador, Ty Dilello (Ryan McNeil Lamswood, Daniel Bruce, Aaron Feltham, Nathan King, Mike Mahon; St. John’s)
17. Nunavut, Shane Latimer (Sheldon Wettig, Justin McDonell, Peter Van Strien, Katie Brooks; Iqaluit)

Pool B

2. Alberta-Jacobs, Brad Jacobs (Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, Ben Hebert, Mike Caione, Paul Webster; Calgary)
3. Saskatchewan-McEwen, Mike McEwen (Kevin Marsh [throws second stones], Colton Flasch [throws third stones], Daniel Marsh, Brent Laing, Pat Simmons; Saskatoon)
6. Saskatchewan-Kleiter, Rylan Kleiter (Matthew Hall [throws second stones], Joshua Mattern, Trevor Johnson, John Mattern, Dean Kleiter; Saskatoon)
7. Ontario, Sam Mooibroek (Ryan Wiebe, Scott Mitchell, Nathan Steele, Gavin Lydiate, Jake Higgs; Whitby)
10. Quebec, Félix Asselin (Jean-Michel Ménard, Martin Crête, Jean-François Trépanier, Pierre Charette; Glenmore/Valleyfield/Etchemin/Des Collines/Belvedere)
11. Nova Scotia, Owen Purcell (Luke Saunders, Scott Saccary, Ryan Abraham, Calan MacIsaac, Colleen Jones; Halifax)
14. Prince Edward Island, Tyler Smith (Adam Cocks, Christopher Gallant, Edward White, Paul Flemming; Crapaud)
15. Yukon, Thomas Scoffin (Kerr Drummond, Trygg Jensen, Joe Wallingham; Whitehorse)
18. Northwest Territories, Aaron Bartling (D’Arcy Delorey, Norman Bassett, Eric Preston, Adam Naugler; Hay River)

HOW KOE, CARRUTHERS GOT IT DONE

“This one was a little different than my past,” said Koe, of using his experience to tough out an always-tough Alberta championship. “At least the last few provincials, we knew we were in the Brier win or lose, just with having good enough years to get those wild-card spots. So we knew even if we lost the provincials, we’d still go to the Brier, which obviously that was not the case this year.

“It was you win or no Brier for you. So in that way, there’s quite a bit more pressure. And at the end of the day, hopefully it’s good for our team to come through that. The win (Sunday) is probably a greater satisfaction and a bit of relief, too. I mean … I don’t want to miss out on a Brier — don’t know how many more I’ll get.”

In the finale, Koe counted deuces in each of the first, third, fifth and ninth ends but considered the steal of one in six as a critical point in the draw, with Van Amsterdam missing with hammer on a possible shot to score two.

“We as a team, we all played really good and didn’t really give them a lot of chances,” said Koe, speaking more to the veteran savvy of his squad. “All the points they scored, they had to really bear down and earn.

“We weren’t facing a lot of pressure most of the game, which is nice.”

In Portage, Carruthers stole two in the first end and scored four in the fourth for a commanding 6-1 lead over Calvert.

But the 29-year-old skip and his never-say-die team countered with deuces in the fifth, seventh and ninth ends. However, they couldn’t quite complete the comeback bid in the 10th.

“We are playing in Manitoba — one of the hardest provinces to win — and (Sunday) was a test of that,” Carruthers, who is set to make his eighth straight trip to the national championship, told the Winnipeg Sun. “I count my blessings. Getting another trip to the Brier is fortunate.”

Or is that veteran savvy kicking in at just the right time?

“I’ve said this a few times, but I think a lot of us would have quit if we wouldn’t keep winning at times, right?” added Koe, himself headed as a skip to the Brier for the 13th time in his career. “There’s a lot of young people coming up — great teams with great curlers — but … yeah … veterans like Reid and myself keep finding ways to win. And … I mean … it seems these years, there’s no upsets as far as teams you expect to be at the Brier not being at the Brier, I would say.

“So it’s going to be a tough field.”

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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