With four round-robin games remaining, Team B.C. can91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t afford another loss and will likely need help to make the playoff round at the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s curling championship in Calgary.
Team Laycock, skipped by Saskatoon import Steve Laycock, fell to 1-3 Tuesday morning, March 9, with a tough 8-7 loss to 2013 champion and 2014 Olympic gold medalist Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario.
The defeat drops B.C. to 1-3 in the nine-team Pool A with six rinks ahead of them in the standings. The top four teams from Pool A and B advance to the playoff round Friday, carrying their round-robin records with them.
Points were scored in every end between Northern Ontario and B.C., whose rink includes the Kelowna front-end tandem of lead Rick Sawatsky and second Andrew Nerpin, and fourth Jim Cotter of Vernon, who throws final stones.
Laycock was leading 4-3 at the fifth-end break, but Jacobs tied the contest with a single in the sixth. Then came the key seventh end, when the Northern Ontario quartet stole a deuce for a 6-4 lead. B.C. tied the game with hammer in the eighth and stole one in nine for a 7-6 lead coming home. But Jacobs would score two with the final rock for the victory.
The win improved Jacobs91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™ record to 3-2. Manitoba91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Jason Gunnlaugson is the only unbeaten team in the pool, climbing to 4-0 with a 7-4 victory over winless Gregory Skauge of the Northwest Territories (0-4).
New Brunswick91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Jamie Grattan is at 4-1 after an 8-3 win over Dustin Mikkelson of the Yukon, who fell to 0-5. Former Brier champ Glenn Howard91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s rink scored two in the 10th with the hammer to beat Mike McEwen 6-5 in a battle of Wild Card entries. Howard is 3-1 while McEwen drops to 2-3.
Alberta91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Brendan Bottcher, who has reached the Brier final the last three years but has failed to hoist the Tankard trophy, is 3-1. His rink had the bye Tuesday morning.
Four-time Brier champ Kevin Koe of Calgary sits atop Pool B at 5-0. John Epping of Ontario and Matt Dunstone of Saskatchewan are 3-1. Team Murphy of Nova Scotia and Michael Fournier of Quebec are at 3-2. Defending Canadian champ Brad Gushue91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s Team Canada rink is 2-2.
Team B.C. returns to action Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Pacific against Howard. Laycock91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s rink will face the Northwest Territories Wednesday, and complete round-robin play Thursday against Gunnlaugson and Bottcher.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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