MY TOWN NOW. again and again BRIER. You re in. Gushue welcomes Brier rivals MARCH 4-12 WITH GREAT MATCHUPS EVERY DRAW YOU CAN

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1 Issue 1 Saturday, March 4, BRIR MARCH 4-12 You re in MY TOWN NOW Gushue welcomes Brier rivals WITH GRAT MATCHUPS VRY DRAW YOU CAN LIV IT LIV again and again Tickets available at the box office & online

2 Page 2 Tim Hortons Brier Tankard Times SATURDAY, MARCH 4, BRIR I don t believe there s any home-ice advantage, but there can be a home-city advantage as long as it s done correctly. Brad Gushue Brad Gushue will have the crowd behind him. Defending Brier champion Kevin Koe (below) will be tough to beat. Home-ice advantage? «Will this finally be the year? Will hometown advantage be enough to propel veteran Brad Gushue to his first Tim Hortons Brier title in this, his 14th trip to the men s national JOHN curling championship? KOROBANIK Sentiment is on his side and St. John s curling fans will certainly be cheering for a Gushue victory. And while many curling fans We have no idea what the ice across the country would like to is going to be like; it s probably see it happen, not one of the teams going to change day to day, game here is going to ease up to make it to game. I don t believe there s any an easier route. home ice advantage, but there can And home ice advantage? be a home city advantage as long No such thing which means as it s done correctly. Gushue, third Mark Nichols, I also believe there can second Brett Gallant, lead Geoff be a disadvantage if it s done Walker and coach Jules Owchar incorrectly. By that I mean you will have to slay the demons of know the restaurants you re going Briers past on their own. to eat at, the crowd is obviously I don t think there s any home going to be supportive of us and ice advantage, says Gushue. able to push us if things get a little Although he has a 2006 Olympic bit rough. But it can also work to gold medal, he has reached the your disadvantage and put a little final only twice in 13 previous extra pressure on you, or you try to Brier appearances, losing in 2007 do a little too much and if things to Glenn Howard and last year to get going the wrong way, it can be three-time champion Kevin Koe. hard to turn around. Gushue doesn t think so as he chases his first Brier title in front of friends, family and excited fans The field won t make things any easier. There s the usual list of elite teams here: Koe as Canada, Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario, Mike Mcwen of Manitoba, Glenn Howard of Ontario and Jim Cotter of British Columbia with John Morris back calling shots. There s also a number of changes. Brendan Bottcher will be representing Alberta in his rookie appearance with five-time Brier champion Kevin Martin as their coach, ddie MacKenzie has replaced Adam Casey in P..I. after Casey moved to Saskatchewan and won that province, and two northern rookies trying to play their way into the main draw: Craig Kochan of Yukon and Jim Mix of Nunavut. Throw in veteran Jamie Koe from the Territories, Jean-Michel Menard of Quebec, Mike Kennedy of New Brunswick and Jamie Murphy of Nova Scotia and it s a tough field. See GUSHU Page 4

3 Tickets from $22 curling.ca/tickets Page 3 PR-QUALIFYING A one-game showdown A Brier berth is on the line for Nova Scotia s Jamie Murphy today. Nova Scotia, Yukon clash By JOHN KOROBANIK Tankard Times Associate ditor Jamie Murphy of Nova Scotia will meet Craig Kochan of Yukon this morning with the winner advancing into the main draw of the Tim Hortons Brier. The two skips led their teams to convincing victories in the second day of the pre-qualifying round Friday. Murphy rolled past ddie MacKenzie of Prince dward Island and Kochan beat winless Jim Nix of Nunavut by identical 10-1 scores. That left Murphy and his Halifax crew of third Jordan Pinder, second Scott Saccary, lead Phil Crowell, alternate Alan Darragh and coach Bruce Lohnes with a 3-0 record. Kochan, third Jon Solberg (who throws skip rocks), second Ray Mikkelsen, lead Darrin Fredrickson, alternate Wade Scoffin and coach Larry Snow of Whitehorse finished 2-1. MacKenzie s Charlottetown team finished 1-2 and Nix, of Iqaluit, was winless at 0-3. It seems the first-day jitters are gone, Kochan said after his team s second win of the day. It was a really good performance by everyone today. The 37-year-old who throws third rocks, said his team has figured out the ice at Mile One Centre arena. We ve got a handle on the ice now and the guys are comfortable, not as intimidated by the surroundings, so I m expecting it to be a good game, he said of the rematch with Nova Scotia, which won their first meeting 8-2. We have a game plan we will use against them. Not one that says we have to be up three or four just to be safe. As long as we play well then I don t think we have to do anything special. Murphy is hoping to get Nova Scotia back into the main draw of the Brier after losing in the pre-qualifying final last year to Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories. And the Nova Scotia skip in the 2012 and 2014 Briers is also looking for another quick start. We re starting quick and that s what we re looking for, good aggressive starts and it s paid off, he said, adding the ice was perfect to play on and everyone threw well. Nova Scotia scored a single in the first end and then stole two in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth to roll past their Maritime neighbours. P..I. didn t get on the scoreboard until the seventh and shook hands after giving up a deuce in the eighth. Nix and his Nunavut team also shook hands after the eighth when they surrendered a steal of three. It was the fourth end Yukon had stolen points After scoring one in the second, Kochan s crew, which had rallied from a 6-3 deficit to beat P..I in the second draw, stole a single in three, two in the fourth and two more in the seventh. The four teams were in the pre-qualifying because Yukon, Nova Scotia and Nunavut failed to get out of the round last year and Prince dward Island finished last in round-robin play last year in Ottawa. The winner of the pre-qualifying final gets to play Glenn Howard of Ontario in the second draw of the main round-robin today at 8 p.m. The opening draw goes at 3 p.m.

4 Page 4 Tim Hortons Brier Tankard Times SATURDAY, MARCH 4, BRIR Gushue FROM PAG 2 It s pretty much very similar to last year, I don t see a lot of differences, Kevin Koe says of the field. Last year was arguably one of the strongest ever and I think this year s is pretty much the same. While Gushue will be the hometown favourite, there s really no championship favourites. I don t think there is, agrees Koe. I don t think there s one or two teams that stick out as favourites. I think there s half a dozen teams, that if they won it, I don t think you would be surprised. That just shows the depth of this field. It s a field that is missing three of the top five teams in the Canadian Ranking System (CTRS) standings as Reid Carruthers (Manitoba), John pping (Ontario) and Steve Laycock (Saskatchewan) couldn t get out of their provinces. But the field does include six of the top nine teams, including Gushue, who leads the standings, Jacobs, who is third and Koe s Canada, which sits eighth. We ve had a bit of an up and down year, but we ve put in a lot of hard work to get ready, says Koe We played well recently at the TSN Skins Game (which they won), so hopefully we can use that as a prep. Yeah, I like our chances. Being Canada is both a blessing and a curse. The team gets an automatic bye into the Brier, but not having to compete in any provincial playdowns also means they miss that week of highly competitive games, which helps teams prepare for the national championship. Plus, as Canada they can be the main target for other teams in many of the competitions they enter, including the Brier. ven through he s won two of the last two Briers, Koe doesn t see himself as the main target here. No, he says. There s so many teams that can win this I don t think (other teams) are specifically gunning for us. I think if anyone will have a target I think it will be Brad Gushue with his team, hometown for him and they ve had a good year. So we re definitely not too worried about it. All Newfoundland and Labrador will be behind Brad Gushue s team at the Tim Hortons Brier.

5 Tickets from $22 curling.ca/tickets Page BRIR TH FAB FOUR The Tankard Times predicts the playoff-bound teams Brad Gushue Bally Haly Country Club St. John s Kevin Koe Glencoe Club Calgary Brad Jacobs Community First Curling Centre Sault Ste. Marie Mike Mcwen Fort Rouge Curling Club Winnipeg Brad Kevin Brad Mike Gushue Koe Jacobs Mcwen Skip: Brad Gushue Third: Mark Nichols Second: Brett Gallant Lead: Geoff Walker Skip: Kevin Koe Third: Marc Kennedy Second: Brent Laing Lead: Ben Hebert Skip: Brad Jacobs Third: Ryan Fry Second:.J. Harnden Lead: Ryan Harnden Skip: Mike Mcwen Third: B.J. Neufeld Second: Matt Wozniak Lead: Denni Neufeld The skinny: The local hero and his gang have home-ice advantage, and everybody should expect them to use it. Newfoundland/Labrador games will be sold out, and a raucous crowd will be just what Gushue needs to get over the top and win his first Tim Hortons Brier championship, and the second win for the province. Gushue sat out the early part of the season with a hip problem, but looks to be on top of his game. The skinny: When they re on, Koe and Co. can be an unstoppable machine, mowing down their opposition with a game of power and finesse. They ve had an uninspiring season, although they did win the Pinty s TSN Skins Game in Banff, but good teams rise to the occasion, and this is a very good team. They have an extra incentive to win this year: The Ford World Men s Championship will be held in dmonton. The skinny: The 2014 Olympic-gold medal and 2013 Brier champion has all the pieces together to take another run at the title. This year s Brier championship has extra importance for almost everyone in the field because it comes with a berth into the Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Canadian Trials later this year in Ottawa, and Jacobs hasn t punched his ticket yet. Look for this team to be highly focused. The skinny: After years of frustration, Mcwen finally broke through to win the Manitoba title last year and made an impressive showing in his first Brier. That experience can only make his team stronger this time around as he zeros in on a national title. That Mcwen is even here this week is quite a story. The team nearly broke up this winter when their results were going south, but they pulled themselves together just in time

6 Page 6 Tim Hortons Brier Tankard Times SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2017 Hip, hip hooray! Gushue good to go this week By JOHN KOROBANIK Tankard Times Associate ditor There are always plenty of questions heading into any Tim Hortons Brier but the main ones this year surround hometown hero Brad Gushue. Specifically, can his injured hip stand up to the grind of 11 games in seven days and then, if successful in the round-robin, two or three playoff games. Gushue, who has reached the Brier final twice in 13 trips, including last year, says his hip is fine heading into today s opening draw. It s OK. Not where I would like it to be. But it probably won t be back to 100 per cent until the summer when there s no curling and I can rehab it properly. But there s never been any doubt in Gushue s mind he was going to play in this year s Brier played in St John s for the first time since Certainly it s going to be a grind, but I was not going to miss the opportunity to play the Brier in my hometown. I m very appreciative that it s here and the support we ve gotten from St. John s over the year. It s nice to be part of this, payback I guess, for all that support. Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant, lead Geoff Walker and coach Jules Owchar are hoping to repay that support with Gushue s first national men s championship and the province s first Brier win since Jack McDuff in Gushue s team hasn t played in a month, since winning the province at the end of the January. There s really been nothing to play for us, which is frustrating, says Gushue, who missed most of the first half of this season with hip/groin issues. We certainly would have loved to play something. It s a long break between our provincials and the Brier. But having said that, with how I feel with the hip and groin, I don t think it s a negative thing. It might take us that first game or two to get comfortable again, to get into the groove of playing games after being off for five weeks. But he s confident the team has made the right preparations despite the lack of competition and will be able to successfully answer the second big question: how will his team handle the added pressure of playing at home. We re going to be very conscious of our time to be sure we don t spread ourselves too thin. That s a big thing we re worried about. With our experience, having played in enough Briers and having seen home teams play in Briers and how they handled it, which ones were successful and which ones haven t. I think we ve learned enough that it will be an advantage for us. I think the internal pressures I put on myself to play as good as I can, it s not going to be added to at home. In all likelihood, with all the potential distractions and everything that goes with it, I think it takes a little bit of the pressure off. If we don t win, I think people will understand the situation we re under. But having said that, we re not looking at it from that situation. For us, we re trying to treat it like a Brier in any other city other than when we re on the ice. And when we re on the ice we want to feel the crowd behind us and their cheers. Brad Gushue has recovered from a nagging hip injury. We are proud to partner with the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier making Atlantic Canada a better place and celebrating where we live.

7 Tickets from $22 curling.ca/tickets Page 7 FORD HOT SHOTS Players are shooting for a two-year lease on a 2017 Ford scape SUV. A glimpse of things to come? Gushue sizzles in skills competition By JOHN KOROBANIK Tankard Times Associate ditor It was only the qualifying round of the Ford Hot Shots skills competition, but Brad Gushue gave the hometown fans a glimpse Friday of the type of shots they hope will bring the Tim Hortons Brier championship back to St. John s. About to begin play in his 14th Brier, the Newfoundland skip had perfect scores on two of the five shots, narrowly missed the maximum on two others and scored 19 points of a possible 25 to qualify third. He, along with Northern Ontario third Ryan Fry, who led all qualifiers with 21 points, Quebec third Martin Crête (20) and Northern Ontario skip Brad Jacobs (19) advance to Saturday s final beginning at 12:30 p.m. The four will attempt the same shots again, with the winner getting a two-year lease to a 2017 Ford scape SUV. The runner-up earns $2,000 and the third-place finisher wins $1,000. Gushue was quick to caution optimistic fans not to put too much stock in the competition. But could it be a good omen? Yeah, hopefully, he said. But again, don t put too much stock in it. I played great last year and ended up winning but we didn t end up winning the (Brier) title. I ve also done poorly in it and had good weeks so it s not going to tell how the week is going to go. It s certainly nice to play for a car but at the end of the day no one remembers who won the car last year. People seem to forget I won it last year. It s certainly good to get out and throw a few rocks, with a few people around. Yeah there s some benefit but it s not the be all and end all. This 23rd annual edition of the skills competition at the Brier tests curlers in five different shots, including two replicate famous shots made by Northern Ontario s Al Hackner in the 1985 Brier final and Saskatchewan s Sandra Schmirler in the final of the 1997 Olympic Trials. The Hackner shot was a razor-thin double-takeout against Alberta s Pat Ryan to score two in the 10th end and force an extra end, in which Hackner stole the winning point. The Schmirler shot, a steep in-off, scored a game-turning three against Alberta s Shannon Kleibrink. Schmirler went on to win that game and followed it up with a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The three other shots are a straight raise to the button, a drag-effect double takeout, and an around-the-horn triple-takeout to score two. Players earn a series of points, from five to zero, depending on how well they executed the shot.

8 Page 8 Tim Hortons Brier Tankard Times SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2017 & D O O F, C I S MU R A T C N Y BARL all at H C T A P TH CONVNTION CNTR S HN JO. ST TH AT R CNT NXT DOOR TO MIL ON T I W T H G I R F F O Y START TH PART H K C O N A G Y SHANN FOR TOMORROW: NIGHT S PARTY MAR. 05 & ty at the Patch ar p e th ts ar st k oc n Shanneygan r! Newfoundland s ow ight of great music and barley necta rst n off right with the fi T F F U B IC V R S L FUL S D N G L Sget made w ith S T O H S L COO Get D IN SCRCH P 0 :0 7 H C R MA P 0 :3 12 H MARC! T H IG N O T G IN M R O F R P QUIDI VIDI DIRT BAND OD CHOICS FO R TH O Y AN M & N TI PIZZA, POU PATCH FOR YOU TO NJOY IN TH & MOR! iature tourney a min s ot Sh ol Co y la abs, as for the free-to-p izes are up for gr pr Win big! Sign up sh ca ly ai D e! n aring gam ce to wear the crow an ch e version of the ro th & ts gh ize, bragging ri Angus McStone ar! ct well as a grand pr ne ey rl ba e th l think of al in the Finals. Just urary e yourself an hono ak m, ay aw om If you ve come fr hed In. A shot of by getting Screec r de an dl un fo een New a lovely kiss betw d an, on ti ta ci re ted screech, a short ill take place as lis w s ie on m re Ce d. yourself and a co least 24 hours re you sign up at su e ak m so, ft le to the e Patch. in advance at Th

9 Tickets from $22 curling.ca/tickets Page 9 AUTOGRAPH SSSIONS SPAC TO PLAC YOUR AUTOGRAPHS BLOW! SATURDAY, MARCH 4 6:30 p TAM BRITISH COLUMBIA DID YOU KNOW?! THOUGH TH IDA OF TH BRIR CAM ABOUT IN 1924, A NATIONAL CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP WAS IMPOSSIBL AT TH TIM BCAUS OF DIFFRNCS IN STONS - QUBC AND ASTRN ONTARIO USD IRON STONS, WHIL TH RST OF CANADA USD GRANIT STONS. GT SOCIAL! The feel of the ice, the roar of the game, and the cold, cold barley nectar! We want to hear about all of your stories at this year s Tim Hortons Brier! Great shots, triumphs or moments of awe immortalize them into legend. We might just feature yours right here! Join your voice to the roar this week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! SHOW US HOW YOU LIV IT LIV & YOU COULD B HR! CurlingCanada Official tags: #BRIR2017 #AngusMcStone UP CLOS & PRSONAL SATURDAY MARCH 4 6:30P NWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR AND 1976 BRIR CHAMPIONS Get over to the Patch to get up close & personal with members of Newfoundland & Labrador alongside members of the championship team from the 1976 Brier. WITH TH

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11 Tickets from $22 curling.ca/tickets Page 11 STANDINGS W L NWT (Koe) 0 0 New Brunswick (Kennedy) 0 0 NL (Gushue) 0 0 Alberta (Bottcher) 0 0 Manitoba (Mcwen) 0 0 Ontario (Howard) 0 0 Saskatchewan (Casey) 0 0 N. Ontario (Jacobs) 0 0 Quebec (Ménard) 0 0 B.C.(Morris) 0 0 Canada (Koe) 0 0 Qualifier 0 0 BRIR SCORBOARD LINSCORS PR-QUALIFYING THURSDAY 6:30 p.m Total Nunavut (Nix) x x 4 PI (McKenzie) * x x 11 Nova Scotia (Murphy) * x x 8 Yukon (Kochan) x x 4 FRIDAY 8 a.m. SCHDUL TODAY 3 p.m. Draw A BC vs. NO; B SK vs. MB; C NL vs. AB; D PR-QF 8 p.m. Draw A ; B CA vs. QC; C ON vs. QF; D NB vs. NT YUKON (Kochan) * PI (MacKenzie) Nova Scotia (Murphy) * x x 17 Nunavut (Nix) x x 4 3:30 p.m. Yukon (Kocahn) x x 10 *Nunavut (Nix) x x 1 PI (MacKenzie) x x 1 Nova Scotia (Murphy) * x x 10 * Last rock Nova Scotia faces Yukon in pre-qualifying final.

12 Page 12 Tim Hortons Brier Tankard Times SATURDAY, MARCH 4, BRIR DRAW? TIM DRAW A B C D TODAY 3 p.m. 1 B.C. vs N. Ontario Sask. vs. Manitoba N/L vs. Alberta Pre-qualifier 8 p.m. 2 Canada vs. Quebec Ontario vs. Qualifier N.B vs. NWT 10 a.m. 3 Manitoba vs. N/L B.C. vs. Ontario Canada vs. N. Ontario Alberta vs. Sask. SUNDAY 3 p.m. 4 NWT vs. Sask. Alberta vs. Qualifier B.C. vs. N.B. Quebec vs. N. Ontario 8 p.m. 5 Quebec vs. Qualifier N/L vs. N.B. Manitoba vs. NWT Canada vs. Ontario MONDAY 3 p.m. 6 Alberta vs. N.B. N. Ontario vs. NWT Sask. vs. Quebec Qualifier vs. B.C. 8 p.m. 7 Canada vs. B.C. Manitoba vs. Alberta N. Ontario vs. Ontario Sask. vs. N/L 10 a.m. 8 N/L vs. NWT Qualifier vs. Canada N.B. vs. Manitoba Ontario vs. Quebec TUSDAY 3 pm. 9 Qualifier vs. N. Ontario N.B. vs. Sask. Quebec vs. B.C. NWT vs. Alberta 8 p.m. 10 Sask. vs. Ontario N. Ontario vs. N/L Canada vs. Alberta B.C. vs. Manitoba 10 a.m. 11 Quebec vs. Alberta NWT vs. B.C. Qualifier vs. Sask. N. Ontario vs. N.B. WDNSDAY 3 p.m. 12 N. Ontario vs. Manitoba Alberta vs. Ontario B.C. vs. N/L Canada vs. Sask. 8 p.m. 13 NWT vs. Canada Qualifier vs. Manitoba Ontario vs. N.B. N/L vs. Quebec 10 a.m. 14 N.B. vs. Qualifier Sask. vs. N. Ontario NWT vs. Quebec Alberta vs. B.C. THURSDAY 3 p.m. 15 Ontario vs. N/L Quebec vs. N.B. Manitoba vs. Canada NWT vs. Qualifier 8 p.m. 16 B.C. vs. Sask. N/L vs. Canada Alberta vs. N. Ontario Manitoba vs. Ontario FRIDAY 10 a.m. 17 Manitoba vs. Quebec Ontario vs. NWT N/L vs. Qualifier N.B. vs. Canada TIBRAKRS PAG PLAYOFF SYSTM (If necessary) DRAW DAT TIM One draw March 10 3 p.m. Two draws March 10 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Three draws March 10 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. March a.m. PAG PLAYOFF 1-2 PAG PLAYOFF 3-4 SMIFINAL BRONZ FINAL PLAYOFFS DAT TIM March 10 8 p.m. March 11 3 p.m. March 11 8 p.m. March 12 3 p.m. March 12 8 p.m vs. 2 Final Loser to semifinal 3 vs. 4 Loser to bronze-medal game Semifinal Loser to bronze-medal game

13 Tickets from $22 curling.ca/tickets Page BRIR TH TAMS... Canada Alberta B.C. Manitoba Glencoe Club (Calgary) Skip Kevin Koe Third Marc Kennedy Second Brent Laing Lead Ben Hebert Alt. Scott Pfeifer Coach John Dunn Saville Community Sports Centre (dmonton) Skip Brendan Bottcher Third Darren Moulding Second Brad Thiessen Lead Karrick Martin Alt. van Asmussen Coach Kevin Martin Vernon/Kelowna Curling Clubs (Vernon/Kelowna) Skip John Morris Third Jim Cotter Second Tyrel Griffith Lead Rick Sawatsky Alt. David Harper Coach Jody pp Fort Rouge Curling Club (Winnipeg) Skip Mike Mcwen Third B.J. Neufeld Second Matt Wozniak Lead Denni Neufeld Alt. None Coach Chris Neufeld Official Vehicle Supplier of the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier /cabotford

14 Page 14 Tim Hortons Brier Tankard Times SATURDAY, MARCH 4, BRIR TH TAMS... N.B. NL N. Ontario N.W.T. Capital Winter Club (Fredericton) Skip Mike Kennedy Third Scott Jones Second Marc LeCocq Lead Jamie Brannen Alt. Spencer Mawhinney Coach Grant Odishaw Bally Haly Country Club (St. John s) Skip Brad Gushue Third Mark Nichols Second Brett Gallant Lead Geoff Walker Alt. None Coach Jules Owchar Community First Curling Centre (Sault Ste. Marie) Skip Brad Jacobs Third Ryan Fry Second.J. Harnden Lead Ryan Harnden Alt. Lee Toner Coach Caleb Flaxey Yellowknife Curling Centre (Yellowknife) Skip Jamie Koe Third Chris Schille Second Brad Chorostkowski Lead Robert Borden Alt. Greg Skauge Coach Terry Shea YOUR PROVINC DLIVRD. $1 99 ONLY PLUS TAX PR WK Visit thetelegram.com now to subscribe to our NW TC NL digital kiosk. One click. All TC Media NL titles at your finger tips! Nova Scotia Halifax Curling Club (Halifax) Skip Jamie Murphy Third Jordan Pinder Second Scott Saccary Lead Phil Crowell Alt. Alan Darragh Coach Bruce Lohnes Click: thetelegram.com Call:

15 Tickets from $22 curling.ca/tickets Page BRIR TH TAMS... Nunavut Ontario P..I. Quebec Iqaluit Curling Club (Iqaluit) Skip Jim Nix Third dmund MacDonald Second Greg Howard Lead Darryl McGrath Alt. Howard Fick Coach Donalda Mattie St. George s Golf & Country Club (tobicoke) Skip Glenn Howard Third Richard Hart Second David Mathers Lead Scott Howard Alt. Adam Spencer Coach None Charlottetown Curling Complex (Charlottetown) Skip ddie MacKenzie Third Sean Ledgerwood Second Matthew Nabuurs Lead Robbie Doherty Alt. Phil Gorveatt Coach Al Ledgerwood tchemin Curling Club (Lévis) Skip Jean-Michel Ménard Third Martin Crête Second Éric Sylvain Lead Phillippe Ménard Alt. Pierre Charette Coach Robert Ménard Sask. Yukon Highland Curling Club (Regina) Skip Adam Casey Third Catlin Schneider Second Shaun Meachem Lead Dustin Kidby Alt. Jamie Schneider Coach Pat Simmons Whitehorse Curling Club (Whitehorse) Skip Craig Kochan Fourth Jon Solberg Vice-skip Ray Mikkelsen Lead Darrin Fredrickson Alt. Wade Scoffin Coach Larry Snow Tankard Times Dave Komosky, editor John Korobanik, associate editor David Connors, layout Michael Connors, writer Mike Burns, photographer Corinne Ball, graphics

16 Page 16 Tim Hortons Brier Tankard Times SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2017 Friendly rivalry Owchar, Martin take gloves off as opposing coaches By DAV KOMOSKY Tankard Times ditor Close buddies and longtime teammates Jules Owchar and Kevin Martin take their relationship down a new path today when they square off as opponents for the first time. Newfoundland and Labrador s Brad Gushue plays Brendan Bottcher of Alberta in the opening draw of the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, and sitting at the coaches table, watching their charges will be Owchar and Martin. It s funny how it turned out, said Owchar, who coached Martin s juggernaut Alberta teams for 30 years but now finds himself helping guide the Gushue team from St. John s. Now we re going to meet each other. Martin, who s in his first year coaching Bottcher s team out of the Saville Community Sports Centre in dmonton, sees the situation as no less surprising. But it s kinda neat, all of it, he says. Jules and I are obviously close, and Gushue and I are really close. So this will be fun. Owchar and Martin s partnership ended two years ago when Martin packed it in on competitive curling to focus on other endeavours, including some TV analyst work. That left Owchar without a team until Gushue came calling this season and asked if he was interested in coaching. I said sure, smiled Owchar. You couldn t x-teammates Jules Owchar (left) and Kevin Martin go head to head today. find a better team or better guys. I wanted to get to the Brier and coming with Gushue is awesome. Owchar admits it will be odd coaching another team with Martin sitting only a few feet away. They go way back, and have had so much success together. Owchar started coaching Martin in 1985 at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Owchar, who was an instructor, helped guide Martin s all-student team to the world junior championship that year, and together they went on, over the next three decades, to win four Briers, a gold-medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and a world championship. Martin took over coaching the Alberta team this year partly because it included his son Karrick at lead. It was instructor-student, then coach-player and now it s coach-coach, said Owchar. But it s all been good. We ve never had a disagreement. Both men admit there s been a bit of ribbing going on between them over the anticipated matchup, but today it will be all business. Like I ve always said, you get the race cars ready and put them on the track. We re just the mechanics and there s nothing else we can do, said Owchar. That s right, said Martin. But maybe Jules and I can get together and have a coffee. Owchar grinned when asked if Martin will make a great coach. Oh, yeah! he said. Well, he should. Just look at who he had for a teacher. sales@ineedpins.com Official Tim Hortons Brier lapel pins are available at the Souvenir Store! TI M HORTONS BRIR