Brier 2017 Gold-Medal Match: Canada vs. Newfoundland and Labrador Score, Reaction

Newfoundland and Labrador defended home ice and captured the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier title Sunday night inside the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The host scored one point in the 10th and final end to secure a 7-6 victory. CBC News' Peter Cowan provided a clip of the decisive shot:

Curling Canada's John Cullen isn't sure what the province can do to recognize skip Brad Gushue, having already honored him before:

As if winning in front of thousands of home fans isn't enough for Gushue and his team, they'll savor the result even more after finishing runners-up to Alberta last year. The four curlers who led Alberta to a gold medal featured for Team Canada this year.

The gold-medal match began encouragingly for Newfoundland and Labrador. It added three points in the second end and notched two more in the fifth end to go ahead 5-1.

Before Newfoundland and Labrador could increase its lead, Team Canada skip Kevin Koe executed a triple takeout in the sixth end to get his team right back into the game. Team Canada scored another point in the seventh end to tie the score at 5-5.

CBC Toronto's Devin Heroux praised Koe's effort:

The two sides exchanged points in the eighth and ninth ends to set up the pivotal 10th end. CurlingZone noted how Gushue has been an excellent closer in tight situations:

Gushue delivered, hitting a draw with the hammer.

This is only the second time Newfoundland and Labrador earned gold at the Brier. The province's other first-place finish came in 1976. The last host country to win the Brier was Alberta in 2009 as well.

The focus for Gushue and his teammates will now shift to the men's curling championship, which begins April 1. Newfoundland and Labrador's quartet will represent Canada at the event.

Expectations will be high after Koe helped bring a gold medal to Canada at the 2016 edition in Basel, Switzerland.

Postgame Reaction

"I can't even control [the emotions] right now," he said, per the Winnipeg Free Press' Jason Bell. "That was incredible. I threw that a little lighter than I wanted. When it was coming down it always looked like it was going to be there. But it only got there by a little bit."

This was Gushue's 14th Brier appearance and his first win.

"To win a Brier with my whole team... me and Mark have been so close so often, it's pretty emotional," he said, per Bell.

"I'm proud of the guys, we fought back and made a game of it," Koe said of the defeat, per the Canadian Press' Gregory Strong (h/t the Montreal Gazette). "It probably makes it a little more disappointing."