Brad Gushue has had a wild week that saw him fall just short of qualifying for the Canadian Olympic trials and now finds himself one win away from a Grand Slam title.
However, it will be no easy task as he has to beat 2010 Brier and world champion Kevin Koe in the Canadian Open final on Sunday in Medicine Hat, Alta.
Watch Team Gushue versus Team Koe in the Canadian Open final on CBC at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
Let’s take a closer at the two rinks heading into the championship match.
TEAM GUSHUE
It was just this past Sunday that a couple mistakes against Brad Jacobs’ team saw Brad Gushue miss out on a chance to reach the Roar of the Rings where the winner will represent Canada at the 2014 Sochi Games.
Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist, bounced back from that heartbreaking defeat at the Canadian Open. His rink from St. John’s, N.L., held a 1-2 record in the round-robin but improved to .500 with a 7-6 victory over 17-time Slam winner Kevin Martin.
The 33-year-old Gushue earned a 9-4 win over Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock to set up a rematch against Martin in the quarterfinals. Gushue was victorious again going 2-for-2 against Martin, who invited Gushue to join his rink as an alternate at the Canadian trials.
Gushue iced Winnipeg’s Jeff Stoughton 4-2 in the semifinals with a clutch final shot in the eighth end.
This is Gushue’s first time in the final of the Canadian Open event. He won the National in 2010 for his first Grand Slam title.
TEAM KOE
Kevin Koe’s rink has been red-hot since the start of the tournament. Koe cruised to a 4-0 opening record and sustained his lone defeat against former teammate John Morris in his final round-robin match.
Koe topped Rob Rumfeldt 7-4 in the quarterfinals and then edged defending champion Glenn Howard 4-3 in the extra end.
The 38-year-old from Calgary led 3-1 but Koe couldn’t cap it in the eighth after one of his rocks took an unexpected turn on the ice — stunning the home-province Alberta crowd — and his last shot to prevent a Howard double sailed through the rink and flashed, allowing the Penetanguishene, Ont., team to capitalize on the two-pointer they had been waiting for all match long.
Koe made no mistake in the extra end to sink Howard, who won the Masters two weeks ago but will not be able to sweep all four Grand Slam events for the $1-million bonus.
Koe’s team won Masters a year ago and the Players’ Championship in 2004 and looks for its first Canadian Open title.
