Tim Hortons Brier 2014: Daily Results, Standings, Schedule and Draw Info

One week after the Olympics ended, curling takes center stage once again with the Tim Hortons Brier 2014 kicking off in Kamloops, British Columbia. 

A star-studded 12-rink field will converge on the Great White North, with the winner being able to represent Canada in the 2014 World Men's Championship at the end of March. 

Notable participants in the event include former Olympic gold medalists Brad Gushue (2006) and John Morris (2010). In addition to securing a spot in this year's World Men's Championship, the winner of the Brier will also be guaranteed a return trip to this event in 2015. 

This is a 12-team round-robin format that takes place over the next eight days, concluding on Sunday, March 9 with the Gold Medal Game. 

The Northern Ontario team, featuring Brad Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden, won the 2013 Tim Horton Brier by defeating Manitoba in the Gold Medal Game 11-4. With Jacobs and his rink not participating in this year's event, the field is wide open. 

Saturday will be the first day of action, with four games taking place at 4:30 p.m. ET. Gushue, Morris and Jeff Stoughton will be the stars to watch. Gushue, despite owning an Olympic gold medal, is looking for his first victory in the Brier. 

Gushue is skip on the Newfoundland & Labrador rink that is looking to win its first Brier event since 1976. In an interview with Mark Dwyer of NTV Canada, the former Olympian talked about what winning here would mean. 

It would mean a lot for me to win the Brier. It is the only thing that I have left, and I'm probably the only curler now in the world that would like to win a Brier over an Olympics just because it's the only thing that I have left to do, and it would mean a whole bunch to me. 

Last year's Newfoundland rink, led by Gushue, did very well in the round-robin stage, going 8-3, but fell in the Page 3-4 game to eventual champion Northern Ontario and was downed in the Bronze Medal game by Ontario. 

Will the 11th time be the charm for Gushue? Curling fans everywhere will be glued to their seats starting on Saturday to find out. 

The full schedule and draw are both available on the Canadian Curling website. 

Teams

Northwest Territories/Yukon (Skip: Jamie Koe, Third: Kevin Whitehead, Second: Brad Chorostkowski, Lead: Robert Borden, Alternate: Greg Skauge)

Alberta (Skip: Kevin Koe, Third: Pat Simmons, Second: Carter Rycroft, Lead: Nolan Thiessen, Alternate: Jamie King

New Brunswick (Skip: James Grattan, Third: Jason Roach, Second: Darren Roach, Lead: Josh Barry, Alternate: Andy McCann)

Prince Edward Island (Skip: Eddie MacKenzie, Third: Anson Carmody, Second: Tyler MacKenzie, Lead: Sean Ledgerwood, Alternate: Phil Gorveatt)

Nova Scotia (Skip: Jamie Murphy, Third: Jordan Pinder, Second: Mike Bardsley, Lead: Donald McDermaid, Alternate: Mark Kehoe)

British Columbia (Skip: John Morris, Third: Jim Cotter, Second: Tyrel Griffith, Lead: Rick Sawatsky, Alternate: Jody Epp)

Northern Ontario (Skip: Jeff Currie, Third: Mike McCarville, Second: Colin Koivula, Lead: Jamie Childs, Alternate: Joe Scharf)

Ontario (Skip: Greg Balsdon, Third: Mark Bice, Front End: Tyler Morgan, Front End: Jamie Farnell, Front End: Steve Bice)

Newfoundland & Labrador (Skip: Brad Gushue, Third: Brett Gallant, Second: Adam Casey, Lead: Geoff Walker, Alternate: Jamie Korab)

Saskatchewan (Skip: Steve Laycock, Third: Kirk Muyres, Second: Colton Flasch, Lead: Dallas Muyres, Alternate: Matt Lang)

Manitoba (Skip: Jeff Stoughton, Third: Jon Mead, Second: Reid Carruthers, Lead: Mark Nichols, Alternate: Garth Smith)

Quebec (Skip: Jean-Michel Menard, Third: Martin Crete, Second: Eric Sylvain, Lead: Philippe Charette)

All information courtesy of Curling.ca website

Draw 1: Saturday, March 1 (4:30 p.m. ET)

Prince Edward Island vs. Manitoba

Nova Scotia vs. Newfoundland & Labrador

British Columbia vs. Alberta

New Brunswick vs. Northern Ontario

Draw 2: Saturday, March 1 (9:30 p.m. ET)

Northern Ontario vs. British Columbia

Ontario vs. Quebec

Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Manitoba

Northwest Territories/Yukon vs. Saskatchewan

Draw 3: Sunday, March 2 (11:30 a.m. ET)

Quebec vs. Saskatchewan

Alberta vs. New Brunswick

Ontario vs. Northwest Territories/Yukon

Prince Edward Island vs. Nova Scotia

Draw 4: Sunday, March 2 (4:30 p.m. ET)

Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Ontario

Northwest Territories/Yukon vs. Manitoba

Saskatchewan vs. Northern Ontario

Quebec vs. British Columbia

Draw 5: Sunday, March 2 (9:30 p.m. ET)

Manitoba vs. New Brunswick

Northern Ontario vs. Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia vs. British Columbia

Alberta vs. Newfoundland & Labrador

Draw 6: Monday, March 3 (4:30 p.m. ET)

Alberta vs. Northwest Territories/Yukon

Nova Scotia vs. Saskatchewan

Quebec vs. Prince Edward Island

Ontario vs. New Brunswick

Draw 7: Monday, March 3 (9:30 p.m. ET)

Nova Scotia vs. Northern Ontario

Alberta vs. Manitoba

New Brunswick vs. Newfoundland & Labrador

Prince Edward Island vs. British Columbia

Draw 8: Tuesday, March 4 (11:30 a.m. ET)

Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Saskatchewan

British Columbia vs. Northwest Territories/Yukon

Ontario vs. Northern Ontario

Manitoba vs. Quebec

Draw 9: Tuesday, March 4 (4:30 p.m. ET)

New Brunswick vs. British Columbia

Prince Edward Island vs. Newfoundland & Labrador

Manitoba vs. Nova Scotia

Northern Ontario vs. Alberta

Draw 10: Tuesday, March 4 (9:30 p.m. ET)

Ontario vs. Prince Edward Island

Quebec vs. New Brunswick

Alberta vs. Saskatchewan

Northwest Territories/Yukon vs. Nova Scotia

Draw 11: Wednesday, March 5 (11:00 a.m. ET)

Northern Ontario vs. Manitoba

Alberta vs. Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island vs. New Brunswick

Newfoundland & Labrador vs. British Columbia

Draw 12: Wednesday, March 5 (4:00 p.m. ET)

Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Quebec

Ontario vs. British Columbia

Northern Ontario vs. Northwest Territories/Yukon

Saskatchewan vs. Manitoba

Draw 13: Wednesday, March 5 (9:30 p.m. ET)

Northwest Territories/Yukon vs. New Brunswick

Saskatchewan vs. Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia vs. Quebec

Alberta vs. Ontario

Draw 14: Thursday, March 6 (11:30 a.m. ET)

Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Northern Ontario

British Columbia vs. Manitoba

Draw 15: Thursday March 6 (4:30 p.m. ET)

Prince Edward Island vs. Alberta

Northwest Territories/Yukon vs. Quebec

Ontario vs. Saskatchewan

New Brunswick vs. Nova Scotia

Draw 16: Thursday, March 6 (9:30 p.m. ET)

British Columbia vs. Saskatchewan

Manitoba vs. Ontario

Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Northwest Territories/Yukon

Quebec vs. Northern Ontario

Draw 17: Friday, March 7 (11:30 a.m. ET)

Ontario vs. Nova Scotia

Saskatchewan vs. New Brunswick

Quebec vs. Alberta

Prince Edward Island vs. Northwest Territories/Yukon

Page Playoffs

Friday, March 7 (9:30 p.m. ET): Page Playoff Game

Saturday, March 8 (4:30 p.m. ET): Page Playoff Game

Saturday, March 8 (9:30 p.m. ET): Semi-Finals

Sunday, March 9 (12:00 p.m. ET): Bronze Medal Game

Sunday, March 9 (7:30 p.m. ET): Gold Medal Game

All matchups and times courtesy of Curling.ca website

Day 9 Results

Bronze Medal

Manitoba 9, Quebec 5

Final

Alberta 10, British Columbia 5 

Recap

The surging Quebec team led by skip Jean-Michel Menard came to a sudden halt on Sunday after a series of early missed shots allowed Manitoba to jump out to an early lead.

Manitoba skip Jeff Stoughton came away with the 9-5 victory in nine ends after scoring two in the first, stealing two in the second and and another in the third. After posting two more stones in the fourth end, the game was already well out of hand.

In the eighth, Quebec allowed alternate skip Pierre Charette to take the reins, and he successfully stole two to keep the match alive. However, it would be short lived, as Manitoba alternate skip Garth Smith gained a point in the ninth end to put the match away.

In the finals, Alberta took care of business in decisive fashion against British Columbia.

Kevin Koe was impressive throughout the contest, as he led his squad to a 10-5 victory.

It wasn't all smooth sailing though for Koe and company, as British Columbia jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first end. Alberta wasted no time responding though, and took three points in the second to take the lead.

British Columbia seized the lead right back with a point in the fourth end, but three-point ends from Alberta in the fifth and seventh put the match away.

There was no 10th end, as Alberta clinched the championship in only nine. Next up is the Worlds in China.

Day 8 Results

Playoffs 2: Page 3 vs. 4

Quebec 7, Manitoba 6

Semifinal

Alberta 9, Quebec 8

Recap

Quebec advanced to the semifinal of the Tim Hortons Brier after an upset of a Manitoba squad that had been one of the best throughout the tournament. During the round-robin stage, Jeff Stoughton led Manitoba to a 9-2 record tied for first.

One of those two losses came to Quebec, so Jean-Michel Menard clearly has Stoughton's number.

Manitoba was there in spurts on Saturday night, but it couldn't match the overall quality of the Québécois.

The decisive moments came in the fifth and sixth ends. Quebec scored one and two, respectively, after Manitoba threw away great chances to score. After the loss, Stoughton reflected on those lost opportunities, per Scott Edmonds of The Canadian Press (via the Ottawa Citizen).

"The fifth end was just a terrible combination of shots," said Stoughton, who at 50 said his team would review their future at the end of the season.

"I mean we came deep on Mark's draw, let 'em make a double, then Jon bumped ours out, then we missed the hit and roll, then I missed the double, then I missed the hit and stick for one."

Menard was also of the opinion that the sixth end turned the match around for good.

"I think the sixth end was the turning point," said Menard. "When I threw my last rock it went back eight but that piece of ice was really, really fast and I guess he got caught too, so he slid through and after that we were able to control most of the game and avoid major damage."

Riding a five-match winning streak, Quebec will be tough to beat in the semifinal.

Day 7 Results

Draw 17

Ontario 9, Nova Scotia 6

New Brunswick 9, Saskatchewan 7

Quebec 7, Alberta 5

Prince Edward Island 11, Northwest Territories/Yukon 7

Playoffs: Page 1 vs. 2

British Columbia 9, Alberta 5

Recap

In the final draw of the round-robin tournament, Quebec secured the last spot in the playoffs with a 7-5 win over Alberta. This was only the second loss of the tournament for Alberta, but Kevin Koe's team had already secured a spot in the one-two game later in the day.

However, Quebec still needed a Saskatchewan loss to New Brunswick to avoid a tiebreaker match. This somehow came true despite Steve Laycock having a 7-6 lead with the hammer heading into the 10th end. The skip missed on his last shot, allowing his opponent to steal three points in a 9-7 loss.

Jean-Michel Menard and Quebec will now face Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba in the three-four game on Saturday, putting them two wins away from Sunday's final.

The other spot in the final will be decided in the highly anticipated battle between Alberta and British Columbia. Jim Cotter, John Morris, and Rick Sawatsky have been lights out for B.C. in this tournament, all ranking first in accuracy at their respective spots.

Alberta has been just as solid behind the leadership of Koe, and the squad would love to avenge the 7-6 loss to British Columbia from earlier in the tournament.

Update

Cotter, Morris and Sawatsky continued their momentum in the showdown with Alberta, dispatching their opponent in nine ends.

British Columbia won 9-5, taking advantage of a fast start and never looking back. British Columbia jumped out to a 3-0 lead through three ends and was never truly threatened.

The turning point of the game came in the fourth end, when British Columbia posted an impressive three points. Considering the stakes at play, coming through in the clutch in such a dramatic fashion was certainly noteworthy. 

British Columbia will now play the winner of Saturday's clash between Quebec and Manitoba in Sunday's final.

Day 6 Results

Draw 14

Newfoundland/Labrador 7, Northern Ontario 6

Manitoba 7, British Columbia 6

Draw 15

Alberta 9, Prince Edward Island 6

Quebec 7, Northwest Territories/Yukon 5

Saskatchewan 8, Ontario 7

New Brunswick 6, Nova Scotia 5

Draw 16

British Columbia 6, Saskatchewan 3

Manitoba 8, Ontario 6

Newfoundland/Labrador 9 vs. Northwest Territories/Yukon

Quebec 7, Northern Ontario 4

Recap

British Columbia had a chance to clinch a spot in the one-two game with a win in the morning session against Manitoba. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as Manitoba edged John Morris' squad in a tightly contested match.

B.C. tied things up with one point in the 10th end, but Manitoba earned the game-winning point with the hammer in the 11th. Winning skip Jeff Stoughton was 92 percent in the important matchup, which was the difference compared to Jim Cotter's 84 percent on the last stones of each end.

Meanwhile, Alberta is guaranteed a spot among the top two in the round robin thanks to a 9-6 win over PEI to move to 9-1 in the tournament. Kevin Koe's team earned four points in the first end and coasted for the rest of the match to secure the victory.

Alberta lost to British Columbia earlier in the tournament, but also had a 10-4 win over Manitoba. This ensures that the squad gets at least second place regardless of what happens in the final match against Quebec on Friday.

Saskatchewan also remains in contention for a quality finish thanks to its 8-7 win over Ontario that went to the 11th end. Skip Steve Laycock kept his composure down 4-0 early and helped his team move to 6-3 in the tournament.

They would drop to 6-4 following a 6-3 loss to British Columbia. As they say, slow and steady wins the race. That's the strategy B.C. used on Thursday. They didn't have one really big end, instead, they consistently accrued points over the nine ends. Saskatchewan added a point in the ninth, but would concede, as they saw the writing on the wall.

Day 5 Results

Draw 11

Manitoba 9, Northern Ontario 6

Alberta 7, Nova Scotia 3

New Brunswick 8, Pei 3

British Columbia 5, Newfoundland/Labrador 3

Draw 12

Newfoundland/Labrador 10, Quebec 6

British Columbia 8, Ontario 3

Northwest Territories/Yukon Territories 7, Northern Ontario 5

Manitoba 7, Saskatchewan 4

Draw 13

New Brunswick 8, Northwest Territories/Yukon Territories 3

Saskatchewan 8, Pei 5

Quebec 8, Nova Scotia 3

Alberta 10, Ontario 5

Recap

Ontario suffered two key losses on Wednesday that have had a profound impact on the way the Tim Hortons Brier is shaping up. Alberta defeated Ontario 10-5 in Draw 13 to pull even with British Columbia, which beat Ontario in Draw 12 by a final tally of 8-3.

Skip John Morris' British Columbia team overcame an early 1-0 deficit by scoring five in the third end to get out to a commanding lead and never looked back from there. Morris discussed what made his B.C. bunch successful afterwards, per Curling.ca's John Korobanik:

It’s amazing what a great team dynamic can do. When you trust each other and work hard together you can accomplish a lot of things...We’ve already had a bit of heat. If you can handle the heat of the Olympic Trials, which is the most heat of the entire season for pressure, then you can handle a hometown Brier. That was a good test for us in Winnipeg. We’ve trained mentally all season and we won’t do anything different this weekend.

Some teams are feeling the heat, though. Manitoba hung tough and sits at 7-2 in the standings—good for third place behind joint leaders Alberta and British Columbia, who are 8-1 apiece.

Wins in Draw 11 over Northern Ontario (9-6) and Draw 12 versus Saskatchewan (7-4) kept Manitoba in contention as the competition continues.

Among the other notable developments in Day 5's results was the continued strong play from New Brunswick, headlined by skip James Grattan. An 8-3 triumph in Draw 11 over Pei preceded a victory by the same score over the Northwest Territories/Yukon Territories team, improving their record to 4-5.

Grattan and Co. built on the momentum generated from Tuesday's upset over Quebec, whose fortunes continued to experience turbulence en route to a 4-4 overall mark. A loss in Draw 12 to Newfoundland/Labrador was redeemed by leader Jean-Michel Menard, who helped guide Quebec to a needed and expected 8-3 Draw 13 win over 0-9 Nova Scotia.

Day 4 Results

Draw 8

Saskatchewan 7, Newfoundland/Labrador 6

British Columbia 7, Northwest Territories/Yukon 2

Ontario 8, Northern Ontario 5

Quebec 9, Manitoba 7

Draw 9

British Columbia 9, New Brunswick 3

Newfoundland and Labrador 8, Prince Edward Island 5

Manitoba 8, Nova Scotia 6

Alberta 9, Northern Ontario 3

Draw 10

Ontario 8, Prince Edward Island 3

New Brunswick 10, Quebec 8

Alberta 8, Saskatchewan 6

Northwest Territories/Yukon 7, Nova Scotia 4

 

Recap

Jeff Stoughton and his Manitoba team have lost a second straight game, this time falling to Quebec in Draw 8.

Manitoba came into Tuesday with a slice of the overall lead, but currently trail British Columbia (5-1 after today’s 7-2 victory over the Northwest Territories & Yukon), Saskatchewan (4-1 after a narrow, 7-6 win against Newfoundland & Labrador) and Alberta (4-1, did not participate in Draw 8).

680 CJOB Sports noted that Manitoba’s skip attempted a risky raise takeout instead of going for a bump to the pot or draw. It ended up costing his team dearly.

Stoughton and Co. were able to bounce back, however, earning two points in the final two ends to edge Jamie Murphy and Nova Scotia, 8-6, in Draw 9. Manitoba, now 5-2 in round robin action, was able to keep pace with both British Columbia (6-1) and Alberta (5-1), who also earned victories during the draw. 

2010 gold medalist John Morris led B.C. to an easy 9-3 victory over New Brunswick, while Alberta scored seven points in the first even ends and raced out to a win of the same score against Northern Ontario. 

In the draw's other matchup, Newfoundland and Labrador was able to earn its first victory with an 8-5 win over Prince Edward Island. 

In later results, Alberta continued its solid outing. First came a convincing win over Northern Ontario followed by a thrilling triumph over Saskatchewan in the day-capper in one of the best battles of this event thus far. Alberta currently sits at 6-1, tied with British Columbia also hanging around with its utterly dominant matches earlier in the day.

The biggest surprise of the late session came when New Brunswick scored a shocking victory over Quebec, forcing an extra end and then putting it away with two points. It was just New Brunswick's second win of the event. Meanwhile, Quebec is turning out to be a major disappointment with a 3-3 record. 

Day 3 Results

Draw 6

Alberta 8, Northwest Territories/Yukon 3

Saskatchewan 5, Nova Scotia 3

Prince Edward Island 7, Quebec 6

New Brunswick 9, Ontario 6

Draw 7

Northern Ontario 9, Nova Scotia 6

Alberta 10, Manitoba 4

Newfoundland and Labrador 9, New Brunswick 7

British Columbia 10, Prince Edward Island 4

Kevin Koe reigned supreme over his brother once again, as Alberta defeated the Northwest Territories/Yukon team 8-3. Poor Jamie Koe remains winless (0-4) against his older brother.

It's success that Kevin isn't reveling in, per John Korobanik of Curling.ca.

"It’s never fun beating them because I’m always cheering for them," he said. "That being said we needed a win … so we had to try to treat it like another game. The rest of the teams you love beating up on them versus this one you don’t get a lot of enjoyment out of it."

The victory boosts Alberta's record to 3-1 ahead of the seventh draw, which it would go on to win.

Manitoba suffered a rare loss in Draw 7, falling to Alberta after Jeff Stoughton and his team played a subpar game against Kevin Koe and his side.

The defeat pushed Manitoba into a three-way tie for first-place with Alberta and British Columbia heading into Tuesday’s draw.

Day 2 Results

Draw 3

Quebec 7, Saskatchewan 5

Alberta 10, New Brunswick 1

Northwest Territories/Yukon 5, Ontario 4

Prince Edward Island 7, Nova Scotia 5

Draw 4

Ontario 7, Newfoundland & Labrador 6

Manitoba 6, Northwest Territories/Yukon 5

Saskatchewan 6, Northern Ontario 4

Quebec 7, British Columbia 4

Draw 5

Manitoba 9, New Brunswick 5

Prince Edward Island 10, Northern Ontario 7

British Columbia 8, Nova Scotia 6

Alberta 9, Newfoundland & Labrador 4

Manitoba keeps on rolling, beating Northwest Territories/Yukon, 6-5, in Draw 4 and following that with a win over New Brunswick, 9-5. That runs Manitoba's record to 4-0 so far, putting it atop the round robin standings.

In both cases, Manitoba needed a little skill and a lot of luck late to pull through.

Draw 4 saw it add two points in the ninth end to go ahead 6-5. Northwest Territories/Yukon tied it up in the 10th end, pushing it to the extra 11th end. Wielding the hammer for the ultimate end, Manitoba pulled through.

In Draw 5, Manitoba's comeback was even more ridiculous. Down 5-4 heading into the 10th end, it got four points to take a massive lead on New Brunswick, which has had the worst luck so far. New Brunswick had the hammer for the 10th end, but it was to no avail.

"Nothing like being one down coming home and having an open hit for a bundle," said Manitoba skip Jeff Stoughton, per the CBC. "We had a really thin double in nine to take three and just paper ticked it and didn't get it out. That's just the way it goes sometimes, you're just a quarter inch off here and there and we got it finally in the 10th."

New Brunswick is last in the standings, going 0-3 over the first two days.

Day 1 Results

Draw 1

Manitoba 7, Prince Edward Island 5

Newfoundland & Labrador 7, Nova Scotia 2

British Columbia 7, Alberta 6

Northern Ontario 13, New Brunswick 5

Draw 2

British Columbia 8, Northern Ontario 2

Ontario 9, Quebec 7

Manitoba 6, Newfoundland & Labrador 5

Saskatchewan 8, Northwest Territories/Yukon 5

Having won bronze in 2012 and then silver in 2013, Manitoba is naturally destined to win gold in 2014. It certainly got off to a great start. In Draw 1, Manitoba defeated Prince Edward Island, 7-5, and followed that up with a victory over Newfoundland & Labrador in Draw 2, 6-5.

An even bigger storyline, though, was the ice itself. Newfoundland & Labrador skip Brad Gushue complained the ice was at a substandard level considering how important the competition was, per TSN.

"They lost the ice," he said. "You see two world class skips throw draws to the four foot that end up 20-feet light. It's embarrassing. I think the ice is just (terrible). It's unfortunate that it came down to that."

Manitoba skip Jeff Stoughton added, "We were going to draw probably half in the top four and I let it go, the guys said good weight and it just ground in."

With so much on the line, the organizers would be wise to monitor the ice conditions so as not to cause any more problems.