Curling

The 2018 edition of the Tim Hortons Brier will begin on Friday at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Canada. A playoff will take place before the event proper gets underway, with two teams competing to be the final entrant into the main draw, which begins on Saturday.

Newfoundland and Labrador won the annual curling event last year. Brad Gushue led 2017's winners, but the 37-year-old will now represent Team Canada, amid a change to the format of the competition.

The most notable difference will be the unveiling of a reduced qualifying format at the expense of the old round robin. It involves 16 teams instead of 12, including the wild-card winner, being split into two pools.

Here is each pool, along with the seeding and skippers for every team, per Ryan Horne of TSN.ca:

Pool A

• (1) Canada: Brad Gushue
• (4) Wild-card winner
• (5) Alberta: Brendan Bottcher
• (8) Nova Scotia: Jamie Murphy
• (9) British Columbia: Sean Geall
• (12) Yukon: Thomas Scoffin
• (13) Newfoundland and Labrador: Greg Smith
• (16) Northwest Territories: Jamie Koe

Pool B

• (2) Manitoba: Reid Carruthers
• (3) Northern Ontario: Brad Jacobs
• (6) Ontario: John Epping
• (7) Saskatchewan: Steve Laycock
• (10) Quebec: Mike Fournier
• (11) New Brunswick: James Grattan
• (14) Prince Edward Island: Eddie MacKenzie
• (15) Nunavut: David St. Louis

               

Here are the schedule details:       

Dates: Friday, March 2 to Sunday, March 11

• The wild-card game will start at 7 p.m. CST. 8 p.m. ET. 1 a.m. GMT (Saturday).
• The main draw begins on Saturday, March 3 at 3 p.m. ET.

             

Here are the schedule details for the first two days of the Brier:

Draw 1, Saturday, March 3, 3 p.m. ET

• New Brunswick vs. Nunavut
• Saskatchewan vs. Quebec
• Prince Edward Island vs. Manitoba
• Northern Ontario vs. Ontario

Draw 2, Saturday, March 3, 8 p.m. ET

• Canada vs. British Columbia
• Northwest Territories vs. Newfoundland and Labrador
• Nova Scotia vs. Alberta
• Wild Card Winner vs. Yukon

Draw 3, Sunday, March 4, 10 a.m. ET

• Saskatchewan vs. Manitoba
• New Brunswick vs. Ontario
• Northern Ontario vs. Nunavut
• Prince Edward Island vs. Quebec

Draw 4, Sunday, March 4, 3 p.m. ET

• Northern Territories vs. Alberta
• Canada vs. Yukon
• Wild Card vs. British Columbia
• Nova Scotia vs. Newfoundland and Labrador

Draw 5, Sunday, March 4, 8 p.m. ET

• Northern Ontario vs. Prince Edward Island
• Nunavut vs. Manitoba
• Ontario vs. Quebec
• New Brunswick vs. Saskatchewan

The full draw schedule is available, per the tournament's official website.

              

The 16th team in the draw will only be decided after Friday's wild-card clash. Two curling clubs based in Winnipeg will be involved, with Mike McEwen and his rink facing off against Jason Gunnlaugson's team.

Details of how the new format works have been provided on the official site. The initial matches will see each team play the others in their respective pools.

Once those games are complete, the tournament will shift focus, beginning on Thursday. Then the top four teams from each pool will be involved, playing off against each other.

The top four teams from this round will advance to the Page Playoffs, starting with the semi-finals on March 10 and ending the following day, when the new Brier champion will be crowned.

Gushue has the winning experience and will lead a strong rink, including talented second Mark Nichols. However, Horne expects Gushue and Co. to face stern competition from Edmonton's Brendan Bottcher and Reid Carruthers of Manitoba, both of whom he expects to reach the playoffs.

Carruthers captured the Brier in 2011, but he will do well to lead his rink out of a strong Pool B. It's a group also featuring Brad Jacobs, who will skipper Northern Ontario. Jacobs won gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The competition is set to be intense, even if Gushue is in a strong position. However, it took the veteran 14 attempts to win his first Brier, so don't be surprised if a new skipper and rink collect the title this year.

Sweden's dominance in women's curling continued with an 8-3 victory over South Korea to win the gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. 

Congratulations @TeamHasselborg!

Sweden win the women’s Olympic #gold medals#curling #PyeongChang2018 #Olympics #SWE @SWEOlympic @svenskcurling pic.twitter.com/0hEhQZCaP6

— World Curling (@worldcurling) February 25, 2018

Leading by two heading into the seventh end, Sweden was able to put the match away with three points thanks to Anna Hasselborg knocking South Korea's stone out of the second ring to give her team three stones in the house. 

South Korea, competing in its first ever gold-medal match at the Olympics, struggled to find a breakthrough against the powerhouse Swedish team. It did take an early 1-0 advantage in the first end, but couldn't find an answer after Sweden took the lead two ends later. 

Hasselborg and Sofia Mabergs were outstanding in the win, as they were throughout the Olympics. The duo combined to throw 35 game stones, finishing with 17 draws and 18 takeouts. Mabergs was 100 percent perfect in both categories. 

This match followed a similar pattern as Sweden's semifinal win over Great Britain. The Swedish team started slow, settling for a 3-3 tie after five ends, before turning things on down the stretch with five combined points in the sixth and seventh ends. 

After a methodical start against the South Korean team, Sweden was finally ready for its breakthrough moment in the seventh end. 

When Sweden tacked on an additional point after the ninth end to take an 8-3 lead, South Korea conceded the match. 

Anna Fifield of the Washington Post captured the moment when South Korea went to Sweden to concede defeat:

The South Korean women’s curling team has conceded to Sweden. But they won the silver and the hearts of their nation. pic.twitter.com/I65mDGWofu

— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) February 25, 2018

Despite finishing one win short of the gold medal, South Korea had an outstanding run in front of its home fans. Considering this was only the country's second Olympic appearance in women's curling, after debuting in 2014, a silver medal is a huge win. 

There's also no shame in coming up short against Sweden. This marks the country's fourth straight appearance in the gold-medal match at the Olympics and third win during that span. Its only lost during that span was against Canada in 2014. 

It was a tremendous day for Sweden on Sunday at the Winter Olympics curling, as their men's and women's teams kept their perfect form going in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Niklas Edin was able to steer his quartet to a comfortable win over Japan, making it six wins in succession in the round-robin event.

Earlier in the day, there was more joy for the Swedes, as their women's team kept up their perfect record at the Games, beating Great Britain 8-6 after an extra end. There were also big wins for South Korea and Canada in Session 7.

Here are the results in full from Sunday's play at the Gangneung Curling Centre and a recap of a key day in the men's and women's competition.

       

Women's Competition, Session 7

Great Britain 6-8 Sweden

Canada 10-8 Switzerland

China 5-12 South Korea

        

Men's Competition, Session 8

Sweden 11-4 Japan

Denmark vs. South Korea

Italy 6-7 Great Britain

United States 5-8 Norway

   

For results and standings in full visit the Pyeongchang website.

      

Sunday Recap

The matches in the women's draw got the day started, with Sweden seeking to extend their winning run at the Games.

They just about did so, as they overcame Great Britain in an extra end. However, the finish was not without controversy, as the final stone for Team GB skipper Eve Muirhead was removed from play after what was deemed a hog line violation.

Afterwards, Muirhead admitted she was confused by the decision, with replays seemingly showing she'd let go of the stone before the line, per BBC Sport:

There was drama in the curling this morning!#Pyeongchang2018 #bbcolympics #lovecurling pic.twitter.com/Wu0BYvWUuK

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 18, 2018

Muirhead then posted the following still of the incident on her own Twitter feed:

Hmm....🤔 #RedLights #BadTiming pic.twitter.com/BIfbxeo4y3

— Eve Muirhead OBE (@evemuirhead) February 18, 2018

"It was the first stone I've probably ever hogged in my life," she said afterwards, per BBC Sport. "There's nothing we can do. We have to move on. I don't know [whether it did cross the line]. If I did, I'd be out there telling them. When something like that happens, it makes it very tough to take and it's gutting it finished that way."

It gave Sweden the chance to pick up a routine double in the end and secure victory as a result. After five matches, Anna Hasselborg's crew remain unbeaten and have already managed to battle their way through some tight contests.

There was also a big win for Canada on Sunday, as they recovered from 7-4 down to beat Switzerland 10-8, keeping their chances of progression alive. This post from the team's Twitter account summed up their fightback:

Rallied.
🇨🇦

— Team Homan 🥌 (@TeamHoman) February 18, 2018

Later in the day, the Sweden men's team were expected to continue a positive day for their country, as they were the heavy favourites for victory against Japan.

Edin and his squad delivered, too, as they were 5-1 up after three ends and subsequently in total control early on. They eventually clinched the win with five points in the eighth end.

There was drama involving the hosts in their match with Denmark. As relayed by Mark Staniforth of the Press Association, South Korea produced a brilliant steal to take the match into an extra end:

Meanwhile remarkable scenes on the adjacent rink as the Koreans steal a two against the hammer on the final end to go 8-8 against Denmark.

— Mark Staniforth (@markstani1) February 18, 2018

But the Danes were able to rally, earning a steal of their own in the 11th to pick up the victory.

Elsewhere, there was a victory for Norway, who produced a fine comeback to beat the United States. Great Britain and Italy also went into an extra end in their match, with the former eventually coming out on top thanks to a nerveless final shot from Kyle Smith.

The round-robin portion of the men's curling tournament continued on Saturday evening (Sunday in Pyeongchang), with three matches on the docket. Below, we'll break down the results from each contest.

            

Japan Defeats United States, 8-2

The Japanese men moved to 3-2 in the round-robin tournament on Saturday evening, defeating the United States 8-2 in a dominant display.

Japan jumped out to a 4-0 lead after just three ends, though the United States cut the deficit in half in the fifth end. But Japan notched two points in the sixth end and two in the seventh to wrap up the decisive victory.

The United States dropped to 2-3 with the loss. The team's Twitter account was gracious in defeat, however: 

Japan steals 2 and that's all she wrote tonight, falling 8-2. We ran into a buzzsaw, plain and simple. Tip of the cap to the Japanese who played out of their minds. #TeamShuster #curling #PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/oSjvrvji71

— Team Shuster (@TeamShuster) February 18, 2018

Don't expect the United States to go down in this tournament without a fight.

"My confidence in myself and my team is at an all-time high, because of the success we’ve had together," team captain John Shuster said on Tuesday, per Rachel Blount of the Star Tribune. "I know the work we've put in. To have that finish with an Olympic medal would be pretty darn sweet."

The United States must finish top four in the round robin to advance to the semifinals, however, meaning the Americans have serious work to do. They'll next face Norway on Sunday morning, while Japan will take on Sweden that same day.

                       

Norway Defeats Denmark, 10-8

Norway held off a fierce comeback from Denmark on Saturday night, winning 10-8.

The Norwegians held a 9-3 lead after six ends, pushing across four in the fourth and four in the sixth. But Denmark battled back, scoring two in the both the seventh and eighth ends. Norway stopped the bleeding in the ninth with a point and Denmark only managed a single point in the 10th, as Norway escaped.

The win moved Norway to 2-3 in the tournament, while Denmark saw its medal chances take an enormous blow after falling to 1-4.

Denmark next plays the Republic of Korea Sunday morning.

         

Switzerland Defeats Canada, 8-6

Switzerland handed Canada its second loss on Saturday night. The Swiss are now 4-2, pulling even with Canada behind undefeated Sweden.

Switzerland got off to a huge start, putting across four points in the first end. From there, it avoided giving up any huge ends to Canada, allowing two points in two ends but nothing beyond that. 

Up next for Switzerland is Sweden on Monday, while Canada will take on the United States that same day. Both countries remain in solid position to reach the semifinals.

After getting an early start Thursday, curling's mixed doubles round robin continued at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Friday. 

Canada, Switzerland, Norway and the Olympic Athletes from Russia came into the second day with matching 3-1 records. Finland was the only winless team (0-4) and had the daunting task of challenging Norway to get off the schneid. 

The top four teams in the standings at the end of the round-robin games advance to the semifinals on Monday. 

      

Saturday Schedule (All Games Start at 6:05 AM ET)

Olympic Athletes from Russia (4-1) vs. Canada (4-1)

Norway (4-1) vs. United States (1-4)

Switzerland (3-2) vs. South Korea (2-3)

Finland (0-5) vs. China (2-3)

      

Friday Results

Norway 7, Finland 6

By the slimmest of margins, Norway stole a 7-6 overtime victory over Finland.

Norway had a stone approximately one inch closer to the pin than Finland, just enough to earn its fourth win and keep pace with Canada and the Olympic Athletes from Russia atop the round-robin standings. 

Trailing 6-5 and down to its final shot, Finland was able to force overtime when Oona Kauste's rock stuck just within the white line on the target for a single point. 

With two rocks on the red zone of the target to start the ninth end, Finland was in prime position to get a much-needed win. Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien responded at the last moment, snatching victory from the icy clutches of defeat. 

      

China 6, United States 4

The United States continues its struggles in this event, falling to 1-4 after a two-point loss against the Chinese duo of Rui Wang and Dexin Ba. 

Team USA appeared to be in good shape with a 3-1 advantage after three ends. China slowly chipped away at that deficit, adding single points in each of the next three ends to secure its first lead of the game. 

After the U.S. was able to tie things up with its one point in the seventh end, China was able to go back on top with two points in the final end to avoid sudden-death overtime. 

Dexin was the hero on China's side with 14 takeouts, leaving Becca and Matt Hamilton in search of lost points that they were unable to get back. 

      

Olympic Athletes From Russia 6, South Korea 5

After losing its first game against the United States, the Olympic Athletes from Russia have responded with four straight wins. 

Its latest triumph was a tense 6-5 overtime victory against South Korea. Anastasia Bryzgalova and Aleksandr Krushelnitskiy used a methodical approach with single points in four of the five ends they scored, including one in the decisive extra end. 

South Korea put forth a strong showing with plenty of late drama, putting two stones close to the center of the target in the eighth end to force overtime. 

The Olympic Athletes from Russia's defense was tremendous in the win. Krushelnitskiy was a perfect 5-of-5 in takeouts, including knocking three South Korean stones out of the target zone in overtime that led to the deciding point. 

      

Canada 7, Switzerland 2

Canada had no problem getting past Switzerland in a matchup between two teams that entered Friday with identical 3-1 records. 

After coming out of the first end trailing by one, the Canadians took a 4-1 lead in the second end and would finish the game without allowing a Switzerland score in the final five ends. 

John Morris, who won an individual gold medal at the 2010 Olympics, was particularly adept at keeping Switzerland off the board with six takeouts.

Despite a difficult defeat for Switzerland, the duo of Jenny Perret and Martin Rios will have an opportunity to bounce back on Saturday against South Korea. Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes will get their first crack at the Olympic Athletes from Russia as they look to move their record to 5-1 tomorrow.

Newfoundland and Labrador defended home ice and captured the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier title Sunday night inside the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The host scored one point in the 10th and final end to secure a 7-6 victory. CBC News' Peter Cowan provided a clip of the decisive shot:

YESSSSSSS #Brier2017 pic.twitter.com/632LVq282R

— Peter Cowan (@PeterCBC) March 13, 2017

Curling Canada's John Cullen isn't sure what the province can do to recognize skip Brad Gushue, having already honored him before:

Gushue already has a highway named after him in Newfoundland, so what now? Gufoundland?

Congrats to the boys @TeamGushue

— John Cullen (@cullenoncurling) March 13, 2017

As if winning in front of thousands of home fans isn't enough for Gushue and his team, they'll savor the result even more after finishing runners-up to Alberta last year. The four curlers who led Alberta to a gold medal featured for Team Canada this year.

The gold-medal match began encouragingly for Newfoundland and Labrador. It added three points in the second end and notched two more in the fifth end to go ahead 5-1.

Before Newfoundland and Labrador could increase its lead, Team Canada skip Kevin Koe executed a triple takeout in the sixth end to get his team right back into the game. Team Canada scored another point in the seventh end to tie the score at 5-5.

CBC Toronto's Devin Heroux praised Koe's effort:

Kevin Koe is carrying Canada on his back right now. Just another superb shot. My goodness. #cbccurl #Brier2017

— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) March 13, 2017

The two sides exchanged points in the eighth and ninth ends to set up the pivotal 10th end. CurlingZone noted how Gushue has been an excellent closer in tight situations:

Brad Gushue is 15-0 tied with hammer in last end in last 3 seasons. 1-0 this season. #curling #brier2017 https://t.co/EFVhtGTEmo pic.twitter.com/A6NnBgTbyE

— CurlingZone (@CurlingZone) March 13, 2017

Gushue delivered, hitting a draw with the hammer.

This is only the second time Newfoundland and Labrador earned gold at the Brier. The province's other first-place finish came in 1976. The last host country to win the Brier was Alberta in 2009 as well.

The focus for Gushue and his teammates will now shift to the men's curling championship, which begins April 1. Newfoundland and Labrador's quartet will represent Canada at the event.

Expectations will be high after Koe helped bring a gold medal to Canada at the 2016 edition in Basel, Switzerland.

Postgame Reaction

"I can't even control [the emotions] right now," he said, per the Winnipeg Free Press' Jason Bell. "That was incredible. I threw that a little lighter than I wanted. When it was coming down it always looked like it was going to be there. But it only got there by a little bit."

This was Gushue's 14th Brier appearance and his first win.

"To win a Brier with my whole team... me and Mark have been so close so often, it's pretty emotional," he said, per Bell.

"I'm proud of the guys, we fought back and made a game of it," Koe said of the defeat, per the Canadian Press' Gregory Strong (h/t the Montreal Gazette). "It probably makes it a little more disappointing."

The finals at the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier curling championship are set.

After Newfoundland & Labrador earned their spot Friday, it was up to the bottom half of the bracket to set itself a day later. Canada and Northern Ontario were on the slate for the day's early game, with the winner going on to face Manitoba in the semifinals.

Matchup	Time (ET)
Northern Ontario vs. Manitoba (bronze medal)	1:30 p.m.
Canada vs. Newfoundland & Labrador (gold medal)	6:30 p.m.

Here is a look at how the two matches played out:

Canada 6, Northern Ontario 2

There was not much to write home about here. Canada scored points in each of the first two ends and never trailed, moving on with a 6-2 win over Northern Ontario.

Canada stole 14 ends and saw each of their four players hit an 81 percent success rate or higher. Kevin Koe scored 64 points on an 89 percent success rate, while Northern Ontario's Brad Jacobs struggled his way to 53 points (74 percent success rate).

Northern Ontario's Ryan Harnden had the best performance of all players. His 67 points scored were one better than Canada's Brent Laing.

Canada held Northern Ontario scoreless until the sixth end, which saw Jacobs get them briefly back into it with two points. Sitting at 3-2, Canada got one in the eighth and put it away with two more in the ninth.

                    

Canada 7, Manitoba 6

That hot streak continued in the evening's final match, as Canada scored two points in the 10th end and one in the 11th to come from behind and earn a 7-6 win over Manitoba. 

The match was one of the finest of the tournament. No player from either side scored fewer than 72 points (82 percent success rate), with Canada's Marc Kennedy and Manitoba's B.J. Neufeld putting on a show for the ages. Kennedy scored points on all 22 of his attempts, while Neufeld came away three points shy of matching him.

The difference was once again Koe's superiority to his counterpart. Koe replicated his 89 percent success rate from the first match, while Manitoba's Mike McEwen went for 73 points at an 83 percent success rate.

Canada trailed 6-4 going into the final end but scored two points to tie things up and send it to the 11th.

The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier is winding down, though there was still a lot to be decided Friday in the final phase of sheet play before the page playoff round begins.    

Newfoundland & Labrador against Manitoba is the main event of the day's action from the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Those two teams square off in the first match after the round-robin stage concludes. 

Before those two stepped on the ice for that showdown, four matches determined the final standings in round-robin play. 

Sheet	Matchup	Result
A	Manitoba vs. Quebec	Manitoba def. Quebec 5-2
B	Ontario vs. Northwest Territories	Ontario def. Northwest Territories 6-5
C	Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Nova Scotia	Newfoundland & Labrador def. Nova Scotia 6-3
D	New Brunswick vs. Canada	Canada def. New Brunswick 7-6
B (Page Playoff 1)	Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Manitoba	Newfoundland & Labrador def. Manitoba 7-5

Date	Matchup	Start Time (ET)
Saturday, March 11	Canada vs. Northern Ontario	1:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 11	Manitoba vs. TBD (Semifinals)	6:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 12	TBD vs. TBD (Bronze-Medal Match)	1:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 12	Newfoundland & Labrador vs. TBD (Gold-Medal Match)	6:30 p.m.

Newfoundland & Labrador 7, Manitoba 5

In the second match of the day for both teams, Newfoundland & Labrador was able to secure a spot in the gold-medal match with a 7-5 win over Manitoba. 

Newfoundland & Labrador controlled things most of the way, taking a 2-1 lead after the second end and eventually extending the margin to three at 5-2 after the seventh end. 

The Newfoundland & Labrador lineup was fantastic in the win. All four of its shooters had at least 65 points and a shooting percentage of 90. 

By contrast, Manitoba's four-man lineup didn't have one shooter hit better than 89 percent of his attempts. Mike McEwen was the low-man on the totem pole at 76 percent and 58 points. 

In addition to securing a spot in the gold-medal match, Newfoundland & Labrador will be able to take Saturday off while the rest of the playoff field sorts itself out to determine who will be the second finalist. 

Manitoba 5, Quebec 2

Manitoba concluded an excellent round-robin run with a 5-2 victory over Quebec. Its 9-2 record tied with Newfoundland & Labrador for the best mark overall, though it gets the advantage by virtue of a head-to-head win March 5. 

Manitoba and Quebec had potent offensive attacks Friday. Seven of the eight players had scoring percentages of at least 90 percent, with Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard being the low man on the totem pole at 78 percent. 

Stealing 11 ends from Quebec was the big key to success for Manitoba in the victory. It's an excellent end to the round-robin stage for a team that looks like the one to beat for a gold medal. 

Ontario 6, Northwest Territories 5

Ontario was able to salvage its appearance in the Tim Hortons Brier with a tense victory over the Northwest Territories. 

After the Northwest Territories tied the score at five in the ninth end, Ontario responded with a single point in the 10th to secure its fourth victory of the tournament.

On the losing end, this was not a good look. The Northwest Territories lost 10 of its 11 games, tying for the worst record in the field. 

Newfoundland & Labrador 6, Nova Scotia 3

Newfoundland & Labrador has found its stride after being the only team to lose against the Northwest Territories. The team put away Nova Scotia with three late points, including two in the seventh end, to earn its ninth win overall. 

Geoff Walker was the star of the match, finishing with 68 points and a 94 percent successful shot rate in the victory. 

Heading into the first playoff match of the tournament Friday evening, Newfoundland & Labrador is playing as well as it has over the past week and will be looking for its second straight appearance in the gold-medal match after losing to Alberta in 2016. 

Canada 7, New Brunswick 6

Canada was able to secure its spot in the playoffs with a narrow 7-6 victory over New Brunswick, its eighth win of the tournament. 

Northern Ontario had already won its eighth match Thursday evening, putting it in the driver's seat for one of the top four spots. Canada was coming off a defeat against Newfoundland & Labrador at the same time, leaving some doubt about what was going to happen. 

Canada earned this victory with a single point in the 10th end after New Brunswick tied things 6-6 in the ninth. The Canadian team already holds a 6-4 victory over Northern Ontario in this year's Brier, so things are set up for it to get a shot at gold for the first time since 2015. 

The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier continued Thursday inside the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Only two more days remain in round-robin action before the 12-team field will be whittled down to four. With so many teams congested near the top of the standings, the fight for the final playoff spots should go down to the wire.

Below is a brief overview of how Thursday unfolded.

Tim Hortons Brier Results

Draw	Sheet	Result	Score/Time
14	A	Nova Scotia def. New Brunswick	9-7
14	B	Northern Ontario def. Saskatchewan	8-5
14	C	Quebec def. Northwest Territories	8-6
14	D	British Columbia def. Alberta	5-2
15	A	Newfoundland and Labrador def. Ontario	8-7
15	B	Quebec def. New Brunswick	9-4
15	C	Canada def. Manitoba	6-3
15	D	Nova Scotia def. Northwest Territories	8-4
16	A	British Columbia def. Saskatchewan	7-6
16	B	Newfoundland and Labrador def. Canada	7-6
16	C	Northern Ontario def. Alberta	6-5
16	D	Manitoba def. Ontario	8-3

Tim Hortons Brier Schedule

Draw	Sheet	Matchup	Time (ET)
17	A	Manitoba vs. Quebec	8:30 a.m.
17	B	Ontario vs. Northwest Territories	8:30 a.m.
17	C	Newfoundland and Labrador vs. Nova Scotia	8:30 a.m.
17	D	New Brunswick vs. Canada	8:30 a.m.
18	B	TBD vs. TBD (Playoff 1)	6:30 p.m.

Round-Robin Standings

Pos.	Team	Games	Wins	Losses
1	Canada	9	7	2
2	Manitoba	9	7	2
3	Newfoundland and Labrador	9	7	2
4	Northern Ontario	10	7	3
5	Quebec	10	7	3
6	British Columbia	10	6	4
7	Saskatchewan	10	5	5
8	Nova Scotia	10	4	6
9	Ontario	9	3	6
10	Alberta	10	3	7
11	New Brunswick	10	1	9
12	Northwest Territories	10	1	9

Draw 14 Recap

In one of Thursday's closer games, Northern Ontario used a late surge to defeat Saskatchewan 8-5.

Following the seventh end, the two teams were tied 5-5. Northern Ontario closed with three points over the eighth and ninth ends to seal the victory. Ryan Harnden had a big performance, registering 70 points on just 18 shots.

Quebec's 8-6 win over the Northwest Territories went down to the wire as well. It was the only game from Draw 14 that went the full 10 ends.

The Northwest Territories notched a point in the ninth end to remain within reach of Quebec. However, the two-time champion scored an insurance point in the final end to stave off Jamie Koe's comeback attempt.

Nova Scotia and British Columbia experienced tough fights from New Brunswick and Alberta, respectively, but each team scored in the ninth end to warrant a concession from its opponent.

Draw 15 Recap

Everything was going well for Manitoba heading into the ninth end. The team held on to a slim 3-2 lead over Team Canada.

Then Canada skip Kevin Koe put two points on the board in the ninth end to give his group a 4-3 advantage. Canada tacked on two more points in the final end for good measure.

Manitoba skip Mike McEwen had a chance to pull out the win in the 10th end but couldn't work around Team Canada's stones to pick up the necessary points.

"Kind of one-in-50, one-in-25 [chance] to make it," McEwen said of the end, per the Winnipeg Free Press' Jason Bell. "We were a shade light on a placement draw and [third Marc Kennedy] made [a draw], through a port, right to the lid, that was going to be tough for us to move. It wasn't so much that we missed, they made some great ones."

Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario also featured late dramatics.

Ontario scored two points in the 10th end to tie the game at 7-7, requiring a decisive 11th end. Newfoundland and Labrador skip Brad Gushue gave the host a point to secure the win. CBC Toronto's Devin Heroux shared a clip of the sequence:

WINNER. @TeamGushue wins it in the extra end. They move to 7-2. Tied for top of the standings. #cbccurl @CBCNL #Brier2017 pic.twitter.com/FBIMwmTb1R

— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) March 9, 2017

Quebec and Nova Scotia cruised to easy victories, both forcing concessions following the eighth end, rounding out the results in Draw 15.  

Draw 16 Recap

Newfoundland and Labrador once again needed an additional 11th end en route to victory after beating Team Canada 7-6.

"That's the loudest roar I've ever heard," Gushue said of the home crowd, per CBC News' Garrett Barry and Geoff Bartlett. "That was fun."

The host scored one points apiece in the eighth and ninth ends, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit to go ahead 6-5, before Canada responded with a point in the 10th end to tie the game. 

Gushue and his team weren't to be denied in the 11th end, and they secured a berth in the playoff round.

The result highlighted a dramatic final draw Thursday. Northern Ontario notched two points to take a 6-5 win over Alberta, while British Columbia clinched a 7-6 win over Saskatchewan in the 10th end.

The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier continues to cruise along with teams jockeying for position in the standings.

Wednesday represented Day 5 of the action, with three important draws for those looking for a spot in the playoffs. Only four draws remain after the day as at least seven squads battle for just four spots in the next round.

Of course, those who have struggled early aren't going to just give up in the 12-team round robin. Some continue to fill the role of spoiler against the top competition, which kept things interesting through Draws 11 and 12.

Draw	Team	Score/Start Time (ET)	Team
11	Quebec	8-5	Alberta
11	Northwest Territories	1-9	British Columbia
11	Nova Scotia	7-8	Saskatchewan
11	Northern Ontario	6-5	New Brunswick
12	Northern Ontario	5-6	Manitoba
12	Alberta	3-6	Ontario
12	British Columbia	4-5	Newfoundland & Labrador
12	Canada	8-7	Saskatchewan
13	Northwest Territories	6-8	Canada
13	Nova Scotia	3-9	Manitoba
13	Ontario	8-6	New Brunswick
13	Newfoundland & Labrador	7-3	Quebec

Pos.	Team	Games	Wins	Losses
1	Manitoba (McEwen)	8	7	1
2	Newfoundland & Labrador (Gushue)	8	6	2
3	Canada (Koe)	8	6	2
4	Northern Ontario (Jacobs)	9	6	3
5	Quebec (Ménard)	8	5	3
6	British Columbia (Morris)	9	5	4
7	Saskatchewan (Casey)	9	5	4
8	Ontario (Howard)	8	3	5
9	Alberta (Bottcher)	9	3	6
10	Nova Scotia (Murphy)	8	2	6
11	New Brunswick (Kennedy)	8	1	7
12	Northwest Territories (Koe)	8	1	7

Draw 11 Recap

A day full of close matches also featured one of the biggest blowouts of the entire tournament.

The Northwest Territories continued its struggles during a 9-1 loss at the hands of British Columbia. British Columbia used the last rock to go up 2-0 in the first end, but then stole points in the third, fourth, fifth and eighth ends to simply embarrass their opponent.

The other top teams met expectations in the morning session, with Quebec, Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario all defeating inferior opponents. Then again, none of these were easy.

Nova Scotia forced a tie in the final end against Saskatchewan with a two-point ninth, but Adam Casey bounced back with the key point in the 10th for the 8-7 win. 

Northern Ontario and New Brunswick had a similar story as the two teams traded points in a low-scoring battle, but Brad Jacobs came through when it mattered to lead Northern Ontario to the 6-5 win.

Quebec and Alberta featured a bit more separation at 8-5, but that was only due to a three-point finish for Jean-Michel Menard and Quebec in the ninth end. That was enough to force handshakes before the 10th end.

         

Draw 12 Recap

This was arguably the biggest draw of the tournament to this point with three different matchups between teams with winning records.

The match between Northern Ontario and Manitoba was an efficient one, with neither team allowing a single steal. The difference came when Manitoba scored two in the eighth and, after falling behind again in the ninth, used a two-point end to secure the win.

Andrew Paterson of TSN Radio described the game-winning moment:

What a shot! Mike McEwen draws to the button for 2 and Manitoba beats Brad Jacobs and Northern Ontario 6-5 to go to 6-1 at #Brier2017

— Andrew Paterson (@hustlerama) March 8, 2017

Mike McEwen continued an impressive tournament with a huge throw when it mattered most.

British Columbia also was involved in a thrilling battle against Newfoundland and Labrador. BC scored two points in the 10th end to tie the match at 4-4, sending it to an 11th end.

However, the home team came through as Brad Gushue and his 95 percent shooting helped Newfoundland and Labrador to yet another narrow victory.

Team Canada came through with a solid performance of its own to hold off Saskatchewan. Kevin Koe's squad held an 8-4 lead after eight ends, which sometimes is enough to end the match, but Saskatchewan fought back with two in the ninth. Unfortunately, the one point steal in the 10th wasn't enough to avoid an 8-7 loss.

Ontario also beat Alberta in a 6-3 battle that will likely not make much of a factor in the standings.

         

Draw 13 Recap

Newfoundland and Labrador continued their strong play with a win in a matchup of contenders against Quebec.

Brad Gushue shot 92 percent in the match, helping the home team earn a 7-3 victory after nine ends. Newfoundland earned its second big win of the day and third in a row to move to 6-2 on the tournament, putting the squad in great shape to advance.

Gushue discussed the run after the match, per Devin Heroux of CBC:

Brad Gushue talks to reporters after the win. Here's a quick clip from our chat. #cbccurl #Brier2017 pic.twitter.com/ob5aQh6z81

— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) March 9, 2017

Manitoba also continued its dominance with a 9-3 victory over Nova Scotia. Mike McEwen's group was tied at 3-3 going into the sixth end. However, two points in the seventh created some breathing room, followed by a steal in the eighth and a three-point steal in the ninth.

Nova Scotia had no choice but concede before the 10th end.

In a family battle, Kevin Koe was able to get the best of his brother, Jamie, as Team Canada earned an 8-6 win over the Northwest Territories.

It seemed like it would be an easy victory for the defending champs at 7-3 through five ends, but a strong finish made things interesting. The Territories cut the lead to 7-6 before Canada closed it out with a game-sealing point in the 10th.

Finally, Ontario earned its third win of the week with an 8-5 victory over a New Brunswick group that has struggled throughout the week.

           

March 9 Schedule

Draw	Sheet	Matchup	Time (ET)
14	A	New Brunswick vs. Nova Scotia	8:30 a.m.
14	B	Saskatchewan vs. Northern Ontario	8:30 a.m.
14	C	Northwest Territories vs. Quebec	8:30 a.m.
14	D	Alberta vs. British Columbia	8:30 a.m.
15	A	Ontario vs. Newfoundland & Labrador	1:30 p.m.
15	B	Quebec vs. New Brunswick	1:30 p.m.
15	C	Manitoba vs. Canada	1:30 p.m.
15	D	Northwest Territories vs. Nova Scotia	1:30 p.m.
16	A	British Columbia vs. Saskatchewan	6:30 p.m.
16	B	Newfoundland & Labrador vs. Canada	6:30 p.m.
16	C	Alberta vs. Northern Ontario	6:30 p.m.
16	D	Manitoba vs. Ontario	6:30 p.m.