Day 7 at the Brier: Can anybody beat 'Weekend Brier Brad?'

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The question coming into the 2025 Montana’s Brier was always, “How do you beat ‘Brier Brad?'”

Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone found a way to beat Canada’s Brad Gushue in the round-robin wrap-up of Pool A at the 2025 Montana’s Brier.

Trouble is does that just make the three-time champion mad for the playoffs coming into view Friday, Saturday and Sunday?

Gushue and his rink-mates from St. John’s, NL, were rolling along into the playoffs without a loss to their name — that is until Dunstone handed them a 7-6 loss in Thursday’s penultimate draw of the Canadian men’s curling championship.

But the reigning kings’ effort throughout the first seven days of the event still sets the table for them to defend their Canadian crown.

They’re still the target — and a savvy moving one, at that.

“I think we’re close,” Team Gushue lead Geoff Walker told reporters when asked if they feel like they’re in championship form in Kelowna, B.C. “I think we’re all happy with the way things are going and the way we’re playing. You’ve got to get some luck along the way.

“But I think if we play the way like we’ve been playing, we’re going to give ourselves a good shot.”

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“Good” is an understatement, really.

Gushue’s championship gang, which includes Walker, second Brendan Bottcher and third Mark Nichols, looked great for the most part of their first seven games — all wins, of course. It took a monster effort from Dunstone and his Winnipeg rink-mates to stop that run.

And The Rock band’s performance is actually an improvement on previous years at this point of the Brier.

“We came out right away and played good in the first game, and that was key,” Walker said. “We’ve probably been notoriously slower starters and try to get better as the week is goes on.

“But this week, we started at a little bit higher level and we’re sustaining that and still, I think, building.

“So we can only get better.”

Oof.

That’s not what challengers to their crown want to hear.

But, then again, there’s no lack of confidence in those foes, as they prepare to make playoffs their own domain in an effort to dethrone Canada’s curling king.

“What can I say?” Alberta’s Brad Jacobs, who like Gushue also clinched a playoff spot with a 6-0 start, told reporters. “We’re rolling with a lot of confidence right now. The boys are playing unbelievable in front of me. Communication is spot-on. I think we’re doing a real good job mapping sheets and picking up on rocks.

“We’re just performing really well.”

And, like Gushue, that began fresh out of the gate last Friday.

“I think we’ve had a lot of momentum right from the first game,” Jacobs continued. “And it’s important for us to continue to have that momentum as we enter into playoffs here. I really am hungry to get into the playoffs with these guys for the first time ever and just continue to perform like we are. It’s a lot of fun when you’re making a lot of shots.”

The real fun will come if they can bounce Gushue along the way.

But with the reigning kings feeling groovy, it might take a little luck, as well.

“Yeah, a few breaks along the way in the playoffs would be great, too,” Jacobs agreed. “But we’re performing so well right now and making so many shots, if we don’t get a break or two, I still think with how we’re playing, we can do some good things in the playoffs.”

The crew from Calgary isn’t the only one feeling that way, as Mike McEwen (7-1) and his Saskatchewan mates — despite losing 9-6 to Jacobs (8-0) in the Pool B grand round-robin finale late Thursday — are brimming with similar confidence.

“Slowly getting better as the week goes, which is great,” McEwen coach Pat Simmons told reporters. “We’ve been doing a lot well, and obviously that’s showing in the results.

“The big thing there is that they’re on an upward trend as far as how they’re playing and managing everything.

“So we’re excited for the weekend.”

So are we.

EXTRA ENDS

The Dunstone dust-off of Gushue meant the Winnipeg team finishes first in Pool A — good for choice of rocks and hammer purposes in the playoffs. The decision by Dunstone (7-1) also means Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers (6-2) earns the third and final Pool A qualifying berth — behind Dunstone and Gushue (7-1) into the weekend’s action to determine a Brier king. It’s Northern Ontario’s John Epping (6-2) that’s left out of the playoff picture because of a head-to-head round-robin loss to Carruthers. Too bad, because Epping deserved better … The other Pool A wrap-up games Thursday saw: Epping upend Nunavut’s Shane Latimer (0-8) 13-3, with the event’s first six-ender ending the contest; Alberta’s Kevin Koe (4-4) drop Newfoundland and Labrador’s Ty Dilello (1-7) 5-1; and New Brunswick’s James Grattan (3-5) top B.C.’s Cameron de Jong (2-6) 7-5 … In Pool B, Ontario’s Sam Mooibroek (4-4) and Nova Scotia’s Owen Purcell (5-3) kept their playoff hopes alive with morning victories — 8-4 over Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith (1-7) and 7-4 over Northwest Territories’ Aaron Bartling (0-8) respectively. That set up a win-and-you’re-in evening contest between Ontario and Nova Scotia, which was won by Purcell’s party 7-3, giving the Halifax rink the third — and final — playoff berth from Pool B … Also early Thursday, Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin (4-4) topped to Rylan Kleiter (3-5) 8-6, eliminating the Saskatchewan champ from the playoff race. Québec’s Félix Asselin (4-4) was eliminated with Nova Scotia’s victory and then suffered a 6-4 morning loss to Jacobs … The other evening draws were: Québec topping Saskatchewan’s Kleiter 8-5; and Yukon beating NWT 6-2 … The playoffs begin Friday with 1-v-2 seeding games — Jacobs v. Gushue and Dunstone v. McEwen — in the afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET) and the 3-v-4 elimination matches — in which Purcell and Carruthers await the losers of the 1-v-2 games — in the evening (9:30 p.m. ET).

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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