Manitoba skip Matt Dunstone makes late charge at Brier to remain unbeaten
Pair of steals cap 8-4 win over Nova Scotia; Brad Gushue has lower-body discomfort
Matt Dunstone is skipping the top-ranked men's curling team in Canada. His squad has displayed strong form all season. Everything seems to be in place for a Brier breakout.
Now it's a matter of getting results when it really matters.
"On paper we have a really good chance to win it," Dunstone said. "We take confidence in that."
The two-time national men's bronze medallist is anchoring a new team out of Manitoba this season that includes vice B.J.Neufeld, second Colton Lott and lead Ryan Harnden. They have rolled through the first half of round-robin play at the Tim Hortons Brier.
"We know this is more than just four individuals," said coach Adam Kingsbury. "It's coming together and actually being able to execute as a team."
Manitoba improved to 4-0 on Tuesday with an 8-4 victory over Nova Scotia's Matthew Manuel.
Dunstone gave up three points in the fifth end — one of only a couple hiccups in the competition so far — before answering with three of his own in the sixth and adding a pair of late steals.
"It just speaks volumes about this team and the tenacity of this team," Dunstone said. "We're playing well."
In Tuesday evening's draw, Dunstone defeated Reid Carruthers' Wild Card 2 team 8-4 to improve to 5-0.
3 season victories
Dunstone changed his lineup in the off-season, bringing in former Brier champions Neufeld and Harnden while reuniting with Lott, his old junior teammate.
The new foursome, affiliated with Winnipeg's Fort Rouge Curling Club, has won three events over the campaign and outscored the competition 41-13 through four games at Budweiser Gardens.
"We've had a great year and I think we've built a really good dynamic between the four of us," said Harnden. "We've become great friends and I think it has just carried into this event."
Dunstone is a good bet to make the three-team cut in a nine-team Pool A group that includes Alberta's Kevin Koe, Wild Card 2's Carruthers and Northern Ontario's Tanner Horgan.
In other early games, Ontario's Mike McEwen beat Yukon's Thomas Scoffin 10-7, Brendan Bottcher of Wild Card 1 edged New Brunswick's Scott Jones 8-7 and Koe beat Nathan Young of Newfoundland and Labrador 6-4.
The Pool B headliners include Bottcher, McEwen, Canada's Brad Gushue and Wild Card 3's Karsten Sturmay.
WATCH | Gushue, Hebert join That Curling Show to preview this year's Brier:
Gushue posted a 6-3 win over Bottcher in afternoon play. Manuel defeated Saskatchewan's Kelly Knapp 9-7, Sturmay dropped a 6-3 decision to Quebec's Felix Asselin and Young shaded Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories 8-7.
Koe and his Alberta crew scored four in the first end, stole two in the second and coasted to an easy 10-1 win over Jake Higgs' Nunavut's team in the evening draw to improve to 6-0.
Jacques Gauthier's B.C. foursome beat New Brunswick 10-4 in eight ends, and Yukon team rocked Tyler Smith of Prince Edward Island 9-2 in eight ends.
Dunstone and Lott won a pair of Canadian junior titles together while Harnden won Olympic gold in 2014. Harnden and Neufeld also own world silver medals.
Kingsbury, meanwhile, has worked with Dunstone in recent seasons and coached a variety of teams on the national, world and Olympic stage.
"I think all the pieces are there," Kingsbury said. "I truly do."
Dunstone came a few inches from reaching the Brier championship game in 2020, but dropped a 7-6 decision to Gushue. He returned to the semifinal a year later but Bottcher made a game-winning angle-raise in a 6-5 victory.
After 10 draws, Dunstone was tied with Koe with a cumulative shooting percentage of 89 per cent. Harnden (94 per cent), Neufeld (95 per cent) and Lott (82 per cent) had also posted solid numbers.
"Everyone always talks about how [Dunstone] has those highlight-reel moment shots," Kingsbury said. "But he is arguably one of the best [at draws] in the game. So his ability to command draw weight, his ability to read ice and figure out what he needs to give the guys, that has been remarkable.
"As much as everyone talks about his high hard ones, I've actually been most impressed by his ability to draw."
Round-robin play continues through Thursday evening. The final is scheduled for Sunday night.
The winning team will represent Canada at the April 1-9 world men's curling championship in Ottawa.
Gushue 'overdid it' at pre-Brier camp
Canada skip Brad Gushue has been dealing with some lower-body discomfort the past few days.
He admits he "probably overdid it" at a team training camp ahead of this week's Canadian men's curling championship.
This is the first competitive event for the St. John's-based team since mid-January. Gushue didn't need to play in the recent provincial championship since he had an automatic Brier berth as defending champion.
The 42-year-old skip said he has had to manage a variety of nagging injuries in recent seasons.
"It's just the same crap, different day," he said.
Variety of ailments
Gushue said he tries to stay disciplined at practice and training but pacing himself can be a big challenge. He added the first game back last Friday was particularly rough with his left leg, hip and lower back acting up.
"It feels sometimes like it's a Whac-a-Mole," he said. "One day it could be the groin or adductor. The next day it could be the hip flexor and the next day it could be the glute. I'm kind of chasing her around.
Gushue still managed to win four of his first five round-robin games but he was pushed hard in every matchup. Two of the victories were one-point decisions and every win went the full 10 ends.
Gushue, who has won the Brier in four of the last six seasons, added the pain can be sharp on occasion, noting the distraction can often lead to misses.
"Sometimes it's user error," he said. "When I slide properly, I don't get any of the sharp pains."
