Brier Notebook: No moose calls, no problem for Team Jacobs

Team Northern Ontario skip Brad Jacobs directs his team as he plays Team Northwest Territories at the Brier in Calgary on March 7, 2021. (Jeff McIntosh/CP)

It’s oh so quiet at the Tim Hortons Brier inside WinSport Arena without fans in the stands, no cowbells clanging... and no Northern Ontario moose calls.

The Canadian men's curling championship is the second major tournament closed to the public under the careful Calgary bubble.

Brad Jacobs and his team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., typically feed off the energy from the cheering crowds and yes, even the somewhat unpleasant moose calls that sound like someone dry heaving or having problems. The lack of atmosphere is out of their hands though and the Northern Ontario team is filling that void by directing their attention to the things they can control.

“I think we miss the crowd absolutely,” Northern Ontario second E.J. Harnden said during a post-game Zoom call Sunday. “Do we wish there was a crowd here? Absolutely. It’s always a much better atmosphere, especially those moose calls. I think the one thing that we’re really just trying to focus in on is concentrating on what the atmosphere is, which is we know that there isn’t a crowd that’s going to be here. We’ve played in lots of different events without a crowd, so I think for us it’s trying to get it out of our heads what this isn’t and instead focusing in on what it is.

"It would be awesome to have the crowd here but they’re not. Hopefully, that happens in the near, near future. For us, it’s again focusing in on what is in front of us and the environment that we’re playing in and not focusing in on what it isn’t.”

Reigning Canadian champion Brad Gushue of St. John's, N.L., always has a following of fans no matter where his team is playing. That’s no different this year with cutouts of his dad and third Mark Nichols’ two sons in the front row plus the “Gushue girls” also among the cardboard attendance.

The lack of crowd noise didn't bother Gushue that much during his opening game Friday night because he was more concerned with his play on the ice considering it was his first game in a while.

“Part of that I think was first game, trying not to fall down and hurt ourselves, the nervous legs and everything that we had,” Gushue said. “I felt pretty shaky because (of) a combination of nerves and then not practising as much as we normally do coming in. My focus was just on that.”

It's also silent off the ice with curlers maintaining social distance measures isolated in their hotel rooms. For those with little ones and/or multiple pets at home though, such as Wild Card One skip Mike McEwen and second Derek Samagalski, they’ll take all the quiet time they can get thank you very much.

“Both Derek and I have busy households, so it was actually pretty eerily quiet in the bubble for me,” McEwen said. “We went to extra diligence to have our little one who’s in kindergarten, she homeschooled for a couple weeks before I came. It was actually pretty relaxing awaiting, getting our tests and sort of being locked away in our rooms but we’ve got a great set of teams around us so there have been some chats on the balconies and whatnot. That quiet time from a busy house was good for me.”

Samagalski added: “I was being daddy daycare pretty much for two weeks before I came here, so I was at home with my daughter, three cats, two dogs, it’s never been a dull moment. Coming here in this bubble it’s been a lot different but we’re getting through it and we’re just excited to be here.”

No touching!

Friday’s opening draw was the first time Gushue really got to hang around with lead Geoff Walker since winning their third Brier tankard a year ago in Kingston, Ont. Walker, who lives in Edmonton, was unable to link up with his teammates earlier due to quarantine restrictions and missed their brief tour season in the fall.

“That was the first time we actually touched Geoff in a year,” said Gushue, who defeated Ontario’s John Epping 6-2. “We gave him a handshake after the game and that was the first time we touched him.”

Nichols added it was weird, Gushue concurred and joked, “We’ve got to wash our hands and sanitize right now.”

Getting to know you

Adam Casey, meet Matt Wozniak. Wozniak, meet Casey. All right, now go and play together for a national championship.

Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson got out to a 2-0 start even though it’s the first event with his retooled lineup fully intact. Third Alex Forrest stepped back from competitive curling at the end of last season, Casey moved up to third and Wozniak, who won seven Grand Slam of Curling titles with McEwen, joined at second.

Casey is the team's import from Charlottetown and like Walker hadn't seen his teammates all season until arriving at the Brier. Fortunately, Casey and Wozniak have adjacent hotel rooms and have been able to fast-track their friendship.

“Woz and I have decks beside each other and didn’t really meet each other before this spiel, so we were doing two-a-day sessions out on the deck asking all the routine questions trying to get to know one another,” Casey said. “It’s been really good. He’s a perfect fit and I’m excited with the group of guys we’ve got.”

Prince Edward Island hasn’t been hit as hard as other provinces when it comes to COVID-19 cases and Casey was able to get in a ton of ice time back home to prepare.

“The only thing I haven’t done is I haven’t thrown at a broom or had anybody sweep any of my rocks other than myself,” Casey said. “I’ve gotten to practice more than years past, for sure, just from not being on the road. I was able to get out six days a week and get on some pretty good ice, actually, so from my perspective it was just a really fortunate year on the east coast, specifically on the island, we’ve been able to maybe not be completely COVID-free but very minimal. A couple restrictions come up really quick and then the cases go back down and then everything opens back up.”

Morris reflects on past and pushing forward

It was 11 years ago at the Brier in Halifax when Evan and Alex McDonah met John Morris, then playing third for legendary skip Kevin Martin and fresh from winning Olympic gold for Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. Flash forward to the present and the McDonahs are making their Brier debut this week with Team Newfoundland and Labrador. They were able to recreate that moment on the ice Saturday as they took on Morris, who is now playing second and handling vice skip duties for Kevin Koe's Wild Card 2 team. Koe scored a single in the final frame to clip Newfoundland and Labrador 7-6.

“I think it was cool ... or does that just mean I’m getting old?” said Morris, who laughed and turned to his skip for reassurance. “Either way, it was great to see them. They gave us a great game. I know that when I was growing up and I played against like Al Hackner and Ed Werenich those were some of my favourite memories, so hopefully we were at that status.”

Koe and Morris played together in the past winning the 2004 Players’ Championship and earning bronze at the 2005 Olympic trials. Morris then joined Martin and won just about everything in the sport while Koe carved out his own career as a skip winning a record-tying four Brier tankards.

“It definitely makes it easier having played together,” Koe said. “It was a long time ago. We’re all at different points in our lives now. We’re a lot older, we’re the old guys out here and we’ve got kids. Knowing him and playing with him has made it easy and he’s fit in great on our team. It’s been a lot of fun and I think he fits in awesome.”

“Kev’s pretty easy to read,” Morris added with a smile. “When you throw it that pure, you’ve just got to admire and don’t screw it up, so that’s what I’m trying to do here.”

Super spares

Scott McDonald’s Kingston, Ont., team was on the outside looking in when it came to snagging one of the three wild card spots but both the skip and third Jonathan Beuk found their way into the Brier bubble.

McDonald is subbing for Nova Scotia skip Jamie Murphy, who was unable to make it due to family and work commitments, while Beuk is filling in for New Brunswick third Paul Dobson, who bowed out due to the quarantine and travel restrictions in place in his home province.

Neither McDonald nor Beuk had any hesitations when they received the calls.

"When Jamie’s team found out that he wasn’t going to be able to join them for the Brier, the team got together and figured who would be a good replacement for him and someone that can fit in really well with what this team is trying to accomplish," McDonald said. "When they had a chat and gave me a call, (third) Paul (Flemming) and I had a brief conversation and we were both on the same page. It was something that I jumped at as soon as they asked me.

“First couple games, it’s certainly a feel out process for all of us. Stepping on the ice together for the first time, as much preparation as you do, it’s difficult because you’re seeing how each other reacts in real-time and we haven’t seen it before. The first game was certainly an experiment but we really hit our groove in that second game.”

Beuk had no expectations to play in the Brier and said he thought he’d be watching the games from home on his couch.

“Thrilled to get the call,” Beuk said. “These guys have been great the whole time. We had a few Zoom calls before we came here, we talked through different scenarios and I got to know the guys. I played against them a bunch and I know them a fair bit, all good guys. So far it seems like it’s been a great fit and I’m really excited to be here.”

McDonald said although it's different seeing Beuk wearing New Brunswick colours, he’s happy to see his teammate playing this week, too.

“Jon’s a great player and a great teammate," McDonald said. "I know he is adding a lot to Grattan’s team to help them perform at a high level on the ice.”

As much as McDonald was happy to get the first win under his belt Saturday, an 11-4 rout over Prince Edward Island, shooting 92 per cent himself and 89 per cent as a team is what really boosted their confidence.

"Getting a win is always important at the early part of the week but more importantly I think it’s making a lot of shots out there," McDonald said. "We didn’t just get a win handed to us. We went out there and controlled our own destiny. From the first rock we were making shots, we were making a lot of precise shots. I think that gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of the week and getting a win is a bonus."

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