LONDON, Ont. — Team Mike McEwen topped Team Brad Gushue 5-3 Friday to remain in the mix at the AMJ Masters.
It was a must-win game for both teams on the final day of the preliminary round. McEwen improved to a 2-2 record (six points) to stay in contention, while Gushue (1-3, three points) is going home.
Gushue, who has won 15 Grand Slam of Curling titles, announced last week that this will be his final season in competitive curling.
During the preliminary round and tiebreakers at the AMJ Masters, teams draw to the button to determine the winner instead of playing an extra end. Teams receive three points for a regulation win (in eight ends or less), two points for a shootout win and one point for a shootout loss. Extra ends will return for the playoffs.
After singles back and forth to start the all-Canadian clash, McEwen got in his groove in the third end. The seven-time Grand Slam champ McEwen kept his rocks separated to set up a deuce for a 3-1 lead and never relinquished the lead from there.
"The part that felt good is that it was a collective effort down the lineup," McEwen said. "A little stumble out of the gate in the first end, but we found a point on the board, and then I think we played seven great ends collectively as a foursome. We hadn’t done that this week yet, so it was really nice to play pretty close to a complete game right through. Just little hiccups in the first end."
Gushue was limited to a single in the fourth, and McEwen made a nose hit for two more points in the sixth to hold a three-point advantage.
Another single for Gushue in the seventh handed the hammer over to McEwen for the final end.
McEwen didn't need to throw his last, as Gushue's double attempt to sit two and potentially set up a steal failed.
McEwen is still recovering from off-season knee surgery, although he's back to throwing last rocks after playing lead during his team's first event of the season two weeks ago at the ATB Okotoks Classic.
"It’s getting there. I’m kind of happy with the progression," McEwen said. "I honestly didn’t think I would be skipping this week. Things are moving in the right direction. At first I didn’t think I’d be throwing brick. I thought maybe I’d have to do a couple events playing lead or whatever it was.
"I’m not 100 per cent, but I’m heading that way, feeling a little more confident. Myself especially, I don’t have the same reps that I would normally have even for mid-September. Normally, I would have a lot because we get ready in August and so on, but I’m still kind of figuring things out. That’s a little new, so this is going to take some time, but the plan is to be firing on all cylinders kind of late October into November. I’ve got time, but at least things are improving.
"I’m happy where I am right now. Rewind two weeks ago, I was like, 'Oh boy, how long is this going to take?'"
Elsewhere in Draw 15, Canada's Team Brad Jacobs hammered Sweden's Team Niklas Edin 10-1 in only five ends.
Both teams are sticking around with 2-2 records and six points.
Jacobs jumped out to a commanding lead with a deuce in the first followed by steals of four in the second and three in the third. Edin opted for a single in the third to get on the board and shook hands early after Jacobs added another point in the fifth.
"It’s nice to finish the round-robin on a win and get to two wins here," Jacobs said. "We had a couple rough games the last couple of days, so to bounce back and play as we did today and get some really big breaks was nice."
A day after a boatload of fans in banana costumes attended the event, a bunch continued the fun, chanting for peels.
"I think it’s cool. It adds a lot of entertainment value," Jacobs said. "It’s great to see a lot of young people having fun, taking in the event and getting behind and supporting the curlers. We love it when the atmosphere is the way that they created. Hopefully, we get a lot more of that this season."
McEwen echoed those sentiments and said it was fun.
"Honestly, every time we play a peel, I have a chuckle. You know, ‘Peel! Peel! Peel!’ I love it," McEwen said. "The bananas last night were a little chaotic, though. I don’t know, they were watching so many games they didn’t know where there was a peel. They were a little more focused this afternoon, the bunches, they recognized the peels.
"It kind of lightens up the atmosphere. It gives it a good vibe. Anybody I’ve talked to, as far as players love it. It really makes the atmosphere kind of cool. There’s constant noise, which is good. It feels like you’re in a pub or a bar or something like that and there are lots of people talking, the energy and the vibe in the air, you can kind of feel it. It’s like that."
Canada's Team John Epping (3-1, nine points) clinched a playoff berth with a 4-2 victory over Germany's Team Marc Muskatewitz (1-3, three points).
Switzerland's Team Yannick Schwaller (2-2, six points) is still alive following an 8-6 decision against Canada's Team Matt Dunstone (3-1, nine points).
UP NEXT
Preliminary play wraps up with Draw 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT at the Western Fair Sports Centre.
Tickets are available at GSOCtickets.com with live online streaming at rockchannel.com and broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
NOTES
The AMJ Masters features 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams.
The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. If necessary, tiebreakers will be played Saturday morning. The quarterfinals and semifinals are set for Saturday. Both finals are scheduled for Sunday.
