The 2013 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 2 to 10 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta. This edition of the Brier marked the thirteenth time that Alberta has hosted the Brier, and the sixth time that Edmonton has hosted the Brier.
In the final, Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario defeated three-time Brier champion Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba with a score of 11–4 to win his first Brier title and Northern Ontario's first title since 1985. Jacobs and his team represented Canada at the 2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship in Victoria, British Columbia.
Event summary The eighty-fourth edition of the Canadian Men's Curling Championship saw one of the strongest fields in the past few years assembled. Defending champion Glenn Howard of Ontario made his eighth consecutive and record fifteenth overall appearance at the Brier. Veterans Kevin Martin of Alberta, an Olympic gold medallist and former world champion, and Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba, a former world champion, made their twelfth and tenth appearances at the Brier, respectively.
Former bronze medallist and Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue made his tenth appearance at the Brier representing Newfoundland and Labrador, while former Brier champion Jean-Michel Ménard returned to compete for a fifth time. Northern Ontario's Brad Jacobs, a former bronze medallist and perennial competitor, and Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories and Yukon, who made a breakout playoffs finish last year, returned to the Brier once more. Brock Virtue of Saskatchewan and Andrew Bilesky of British Columbia made their first appearances at the Brier, while veterans James Grattan of New Brunswick, Eddie MacKenzie of Prince Edward Island, and Paul Flemming of Nova Scotia made repeat appearances at the Brier.
Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northern Ontario, Ontario, and Quebec shot out to the top of the pack early on, while Alberta struggled to find its rhythm in the beginning draws, dropping four games out of the first five. As the tournament progressed, the top teams began to battle for rankings, and after the halfway point, only Ontario remained undefeated. Alberta began to string up a winning streak, and scored crucial victories as they moved up in the standings. At the end of the round-robin, Ontario had clinched the first seed in the standings, with only one loss to Alberta in the round robin. Newfoundland and Labrador and Northern Ontario secured spots in page 3 vs. 4 games with two wins on the last day, while Manitoba's win in the last draw propelled them to the page 1 vs. 2 games against Ontario, simultaneously dropping Alberta out of playoff contention.
In the page playoffs, Ontario's Glenn Howard and Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton faced off in a battle of veterans, which began as a close game and ended with a win for Manitoba after a missed shot by Howard gave Stoughton a shot for three and the win, making the final score 7–6. Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario and Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador played to claim a spot in the semifinals. Jacobs held a slight advantage throughout the game, but Gushue made a comeback in the tenth to force an extra end, in which Jacobs drew for the 6–5 win.
Jacobs then played Howard in the semifinal for a spot in the final, and early on, both teams played a back-and-forth game. However, a steal of two for Northern Ontario in the fifth, along with more missed shots from Howard and strong play from Jacobs, led to an upset win by Jacobs with a score of 9–7. Howard and Gushue then played for the bronze in another tight game which ended in Howard making a draw for the win in an extra end, resulting in a score of 7–6. Jacobs and Stoughton then played for the championship, in what turned out to be a mostly one-sided affair after excellent shots by Jacobs led to steals and multi-point ends against a struggling Manitoba team. Jacobs and their team scored four straight points in the second half of the game, sealing it up in nine ends with a score of 11–4.
Teams British ColumbiaManitobaNew BrunswickSaville SC, Edmonton Skip: Kevin Martin Third: John Morris Second: Marc Kennedy Lead: Ben Hebert Alternate: Karrick Martin Royal City CC, New Westminster Skip: Andrew Bilesky Third: Steve Kopf Second: Derek Errington Lead: Aaron Watson Alternate: Sean Geall Charleswood CC, Winnipeg Skip: Jeff Stoughton Third: Jon Mead Second: Reid Carruthers Lead: Mark Nichols Alternate: Garth Smith Gage G&CC, Oromocto Skip: James Grattan Third: Jason Roach Second: Darren Roach Lead: Peter Case Alternate: Zach EldridgeNewfoundland and LabradorNorthern OntarioNova ScotiaOntarioBally Haly G&CC, St. John's Skip: Brad Gushue Third: Brett Gallant Second: Adam Casey Lead: Geoff Walker Alternate: Jamie Korab Soo CA, Sault Ste. Marie Skip: Brad Jacobs Third: Ryan Fry Second: E. J. Harnden Lead: Ryan Harnden Alternate: Matt Dumontelle Lakeshore CC, Lower Sackville Fourth: Ian Fitzner-Leblanc Skip: Paul Flemming Second: Graham Breckon Lead: Kelly Mittelstadt Alternate: Kent Smith Coldwater & District CC, Coldwater Skip: Glenn Howard Third: Wayne Middaugh Second: Brent Laing Lead: Craig Savill Alternate: Scott Howard Prince Edward IslandQuebec SaskatchewanYukon/Northwest TerritoriesCharlottetown CC, Charlottetown Skip: Eddie MacKenzie Third: Anson Carmody Second: Alex MacFadyen Lead: Sean Ledgerwood Alternate: Phil GorveattCC Etchemin, Saint-Romuald Skip: Jean-Michel Ménard Third: Martin Crête Second: Éric Sylvain Lead: Philippe Ménard Alternate: Pierre Charette Callie CC, Regina Skip: Brock Virtue Third: Braeden Moskowy Second: Chris Schille Lead: D. J. Kidby Alternate: Brock Montgomery Yellowknife CC, Yellowknife Skip: Jamie Koe Third: Tom Naugler Second: Brad Chorostkowski Lead: Robert Borden Alternate: Kevin Whitehead
Team rankings
Team CTRS ranking (As of Feb 10) WCT Order of Merit (As of Week 29) (Stoughton) 2 5 (Howard) 4 1 (Martin) 5 4 (Jacobs) 6 8 (Gushue) 9 9 (Ménard) 15 16 (Bilesky) 29 59 (Virtue) 46 51 (Grattan) 56 125 (Flemming) 64 99 (MacKenzie) 82 58 (Koe) NR 75
Map of teams
Round-robin standings Final round-robin standings KeyTeams to Playoffs LocaleSkip Glenn Howard 10 1 76 39 48 32 17 17 90% Jeff Stoughton 8 3 72 61 47 45 11 10 89% Brad Gushue 8 3 74 52 46 39 15 8 87% Brad Jacobs 8 3 81 52 46 38 13 11 86% Kevin Martin 7 4 66 53 44 39 13 13 88% Jean-Michel Ménard 6 5 65 54 42 40 22 8 86% James Grattan 5 6 68 69 51 40 14 15 85% Jamie Koe 5 6 70 74 42 48 9 11 82% Brock Virtue 5 6 62 63 45 44 16 12 85% Eddie MacKenzie 2 9 44 74 31 44 21 1 80% Paul Flemming 1 10 43 86 30 48 18 2 82% Andrew Bilesky 1 10 47 86 36 50 13 4 85%
Round-robin results All times listed in Mountain Standard Time (UTC−7).
Draw 1 Saturday, March 2, 1:30 pm
Draw 2 Saturday, March 2, 6:30 pm
Draw 3 Sunday, March 3, 8:30 am
Draw 4 Sunday, March 3, 1:30 pm
Draw 5 Sunday, March 3, 6:30 pm
Draw 6 Monday, March 4, 1:30 pm
Draw 7 Monday, March 4, 6:30 pm
Draw 8 Tuesday, March 5, 1:30 pm
Draw 9 Tuesday, March 5, 6:30 pm
Draw 10 Wednesday, March 6, 1:30 pm
Draw 11 Wednesday, March 6, 8:00 pm
Draw 12 Thursday, March 7, 8:30 am
Draw 13 Thursday, March 7, 1:30 pm
Draw 14 Thursday, March 7, 7:30 pm
Draw 15 Friday, March 8, 8:30 am
Draw 16 Friday, March 8, 1:30 pm
Draw 17 Friday, March 8, 7:30 pm
Playoffs
1 vs. 2 Saturday, March 9, 1:30 pm
3 vs. 4 Saturday, March 9, 6:30 pm
Semifinal Sunday, March 10, 8:30 am
Bronze medal game Sunday, March 10, 1:30 pm
Final Sunday, March 10, 6:30 pm
Statistics Top 5 player percentages Round robin only Leads % Aaron Watson 93 Peter Case 93 Mark Nichols 92 Ben Hebert 91 Philippe Ménard 91 Seconds % Brent Laing 93 Marc Kennedy 90 Reid Carruthers 87 Derek Errington 86 Chris Schille 85 Thirds % Jon Mead 90 Wayne Middaugh 90 Ryan Fry 88 Martin Crête 87 John Morris 86 Skips % Glenn Howard 89 Brad Gushue 89 Jeff Stoughton 86 Kevin Martin 84 Jean-Michel Ménard 83
Team percentages Round Robin only Province Skip % Glenn Howard 90 Jeff Stoughton 89 Kevin Martin 88 Brad Gushue 87 Jean-Michel Ménard 86 Brad Jacobs 86 Andrew Bilesky 85 James Grattan 85 Brock Virtue 85 Paul Flemming 82 Jamie Koe 82 Eddie MacKenzie 80
Perfect games Player Team Position Shots Opponent Mark Nichols Lead 16 Ryan Harnden Lead 14 Brad Jacobs Skip 14 Ben Hebert Lead 10 Philippe Ménard Lead 16 Craig Savill Lead 14 Brent Laing Second 14 Marc Kennedy Second 14 Mark Nichols Lead 18 Ryan Harnden Lead 17
Awards The awards and all-star teams are listed as follows:
All-Star Teams First Team Skip: Glenn Howard, Ontario Third: Wayne Middaugh, Ontario Second: Brent Laing, Ontario Lead Mark Nichols, Manitoba
Second Team Skip: Brad Gushue, Newfoundland and Labrador Third: Jon Mead, Manitoba Second: Marc Kennedy, Alberta Lead: Craig Savill, Ontario
Ross Harstone Sportsmanship Award Paul Flemming, Nova Scotia skip
Scotty Harper Award Kevin Palmer, The Curling News, for the best curling story of 2012
Paul McLean Award Larry Wood, curling journalist, editor of The Tankard Times, Canadian Curling Hall of Fame inductee
Hec Gervais Most Valuable Player Award Brad Jacobs, Northern Ontario skip
References
External links