STATELINE, Nev. — If the Canadian Olympic curling trials are like exams, then the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe is crunch time.
That's right up the alley for Winnipeg skip Jordon McDonald, who balances curling with the books as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Manitoba.
The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe, which kicked off Tuesday at the Tahoe Blue Event Center, is the final tune-up for several teams with Olympic dreams heading to Halifax in a couple of weeks.
Team McDonald punched their tickets after winning last month’s pre-trials and are one of six Canadian men's squads in action at this week's Grand Slam of Curling tournament. They’ll even get a dress rehearsal, with preliminary round games against Team John Epping and Team Matt Dunstone — opponents they’ll face again at the trials.
“It's a bit of a pleasant surprise, for sure, playing a couple trials teams that are definitely going to be in the hunt,” McDonald said before Monday’s practice. “To see them once before the trials is probably a big key for us. Just knowing what to expect and kind of seeing what kind of level we need to play at, that'll be good for us.”
The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe is also the Grand Slam of Curling’s first international event, taking place during the milestone 25th season of the series. It was one of the tournaments McDonald was aiming to play in — along with January’s Players’ Championship close to home in Steinbach, Man., of course — and he was fortunate enough to receive a sponsor's exemption.
"We were really excited when we got the invite to the Slam," said McDonald, whose team is ranked 19th in the world. "This was one of the ones we were hoping to get into, other than the hometown one in Steinbach. Tahoe's an unbelievable place. It's a really cool spot.
“I think with winning the pre-trials, getting that little prep before the trials, too, is really helpful as well, so it's super great to be here.”
QUICK LINKS: DRAW SCHEDULE | BROADCAST SCHEDULE | STANDINGS
McDonald said his team had a bit of a rough start to the season, although they were also on the wrong side of the inch for some last stone draw totals. They missed the playoffs in the AMJ Masters Tier 2 as a result and despite a strong run at the PointsBet Invitational, they fell into a three-way tie with Dunstone and Team Mike McEwen for a spot in the final where the LSD didn’t go in their favour either.
“That's part of learning about the game, and it's an important part of the game,” McDonald said. “I think it finally really clicked at the PointsBet and the pre-trials there, and that's kind of when we wanted to click as well. We wanted to peak there. Super happy of how things are going right now and hope to carry it on forward.”
McDonald also made a lineup change ahead of this season, bringing in Jacques Gauthier to play third. Although it might be weird to call Gauthier the “veteran” of the team at age 27, it’s all relative considering both McDonald and lead Cameron Olafson are 22, while second Elias Huminicki is 21.
Gauthier has competed in the Brier three times, most recently with Kevin Koe’s team in 2024, and multiple Grand Slam events. While his experience is huge, McDonald highlighted some of the other attributes Gauthier brings to the team (besides being old enough to rent a car).
“I think just keeping us calm on the ice,” McDonald said. “One thing with lacking experience is we tend to get emotions, ride the emotional roller-coaster a bit. Just keeping us level out there, and obviously, great shot-making is super helpful too.”
ALLEN GOES THE DISTANCE IN DEBUT
Jared Allen’s Grand Slam of Curling debut was nothing short of absolute cinema.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer, who took up curling after retiring from the NFL, has joined forces this week with three-time world champion Wayne Middaugh, two-time Olympic gold medallist John Morris and U.S. Olympian Jason Smith.
Team Allen faced a tough task to start in Draw 3 by taking on Team Ross Whyte, two-time Scottish champs and winners of last season’s Masters. Although Team Whyte earned the 10-9 victory, Team Allen took them to the distance in the shootout after a wild back-and-forth battle.
Allen said stepping out onto the Grand Slam ice for the first time felt fantastic.
"I haven't curled competitively for over a year, so just to be out here with the team … I'm playing with (two) Olympians and for me that brings you confidence," said Allen, who is throwing lead stones with Middaugh skipping the squad. "You're making shots, you miss a couple early, but then you just keep building, keep building, keep grinding, and I think that was the biggest thing. We all just trust each other to make the next one and it took care of itself."
It started with field goals and safeties on the scoreboard — something the former defensive end is all too familiar with — as Allen scored three in the first and two in the third to build a 5-2 lead.
Whyte then took control, evening it up with a three-ender in the fourth, holding Allen to a single in the fifth, and scoring four in the sixth to pull ahead 9-6. The sixth end also saw a scary moment as Allen snapped his broom in half and spilled onto the ice. Fortunately, he was fine.
"I got lucky. I hit the rock with my forearm and the broom didn't gouge me, it didn't spear me, so I was actually good," he said. "I was more pissed that I burnt the stone because Smitty threw a great shot and I ruined it for him."
Down but not out, Team Allen kept plugging away and scored an equalizing three points in the eighth end to force the shootout.
Whyte covered the pin, while Middaugh's rock reached the button, but came up short of the pinhole. Still, Allen is on the board with a single point.
"We kind of had some scenarios we were hoping to be in," Allen said. "Wayne told us if we're down two in the eighth, we really like that. Unfortunately, the six got a little wonky with a shattered broom and a couple missed shots and we end up giving up a four, but we're still down three. We ended up taking it to the shootout."
Being that it is the first Grand Slam event in the United States, the Rocky-esque story of the underdog taking the champs to the distance could be inspiring to others.
“I think it shows the competitive edge of everybody. I think you're gonna give guys that see us out there competing and say, holy crap,” Allen said. “But at the same time, we're paying homage because we put a lot of hard work in. Obviously, Wayne and Jason and Johnny are legends in their own right, but being here in the States and seeing us compete, seeing us take these top teams the distance, that's just gonna encourage people, right?
“It makes for great TV, makes for great entertainment and at the end of the day, sports have to be entertaining to sustain. I think you just saw how riveting curling is. I mean, there are so many swings, so many ups and downs with some of the top teams in the world.”
HA HOLDS ON TO WIN
First draw, first shootout.
While it took until Draw 7 at the AMJ Masters and Draw 11 at the CO-OP Tour Challenge for a shootout to make an appearance in those events, Team Seung-youn Ha and Team Sayaka Yoshimura went the distance during Tuesday's opener.
Ha had an opportunity to win it in the eighth end. Already up by one point but facing two, Ha hit and rolled too far to give up the steal.
Redemption came in the shootout. Ha drew to bite the back of the button, and her shot hung on for the 7-6 win after Yoshimura's rock came up short.
SWEEP OF THE DAY
Carole Howald and Selina Witschonke really had to pull the string on this one.
Howald and Witschonke swept from coast to coast to help drag in the winning point, as Team Silvana Tirinzoni scored two points in the eighth end to edge Team Isabella Wranå 7-6 during Draw 2.
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
Watch all games on rockchannel.com.
Draw 1
• Ha 7, Yoshimura 6 (shootout)
• Fujisawa 7, Gim 4
• Edin 6, Xu 5
• Epping 6, McDonald 4
Draw 2
• Tirinzoni 7, Wrana 6
• X. Schwaller 8, Lawes 4
• Retornaz 10, Kleiter 3
• Mouat 7, Muskatewitz 6
Draw 3
• Einarson 7, Kang 3
• Homan 9, Kitazawa 4
• Dunstone 6, Waddell 5
• Whyte 10, Allen 9 (shootout)
Draw 4
• Hasselborg 8, Wang 4
• Tabata 5, Morrison 3
• Y. Schwaller 8, Hoesli 4
• Jacobs 7, McEwen 6
ABOUT THE KIOTI GSOC TAHOE
The KIOTI GSOC Tahoe is the third stop of the Grand Slam of Curling season, featuring 16 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams from around the world.
The preliminary round runs through to Friday evening, with the top eight teams advancing to the playoffs. If necessary, one tiebreaker round will be played Saturday morning. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with both finals on tap Sunday.
Teams can blank only one end per game. If a team blanks again at any other point in the game, they will lose the hammer.
There are no extra ends. If a game is tied after eight ends, even in the playoffs, a draw-to-the-button shootout will determine the winner.
During the preliminary round, teams receive three points for a regulation win (in eight ends or fewer), two points for a shootout win, and one point for a shootout loss.
