Tim Hortons Brier 2016: Sunday Curling Results, Updated Draw and Schedule
Round-robin action at the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, continued Sunday at TD Place Arena with three draws to get through.
This year's pool of 12 teams is filled with talent and depth, so the defending champions in Team Canada have their work cut out to protect the hardware against many capable compatriots.
Skip Pat Simmons' bunch had a tough test in Sunday's early-morning draw but edged out a 5-4 victory over Saskatchewan. Check out the updated results from the latest draws, starting with the third:
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| Alberta (Koe) | 10-4 | New Brunswick (Kennedy) |
| Canada (Simmons) | 5-4 | Saskatchewan (Laycock) |
| Manitoba (McEwen) | 6-2 | Ontario (Howard) |
| Northern Ontario (Jacobs) | 5-4 | Quebec (Menard) |
| Canada (Simmons) | 6-3 | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| Ontario (Howard) | 4-3 | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) |
| Alberta (Koe) | 10-4 | Prince Edward Island (Casey) |
| Saskatchewan (Laycock) | 8-4 | British Columbia (Cotter) |
| Québec (Menard) | 4-2 | Prince Edward Island (Casey) |
| Manitoba (McEwen) | 6-3 | New Brunswick (Kennedy) |
| Northern Ontario (Jacobs) | 5-3 | British Columbia (Cotter) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) | 6-3 | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
The close runner-up to Team Canada last year was Northern Ontario, led by skip Brad Jacobs. By an identical 5-4 score, Jacobs' squad also improved to 2-0 in round-robin play in a victory over Quebec.
Continue on for more details on the day's draws and the updated Brier schedule.
| Sunday, March 6 (Draw 5) | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Prince Edward Island (Casey) | Quebec (Menard) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Manitoba (McEwen) | New Brunswick (Kennedy) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) | British Columbia (Cotter) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| Monday, March 7 (Draw 6) | ||
| 2:30 p.m. | Ontario (Howard) | British Columbia (Cotter) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Alberta (Koe) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Saskatchewan (Laycock) | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Canada (Simmons) | Prince Edward Island (Casey) |
| Draw 7 | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Canada (Simmons) | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Quebec (Menard) | Saskatchewan (Laycock) |
| 7:30 p.m. | New Brunswick (Kennedy) | Ontario (Howard) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Alberta (Koe) | Manitoba (McEwen) |
| Tuesday, March 8 (Draw 8) | ||
| 9:30 a.m. | Manitoba (McEwen) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| 9:30 a.m. | New Brunswick (Kennedy) | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Prince Edward Island (Casey) | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) |
| 9:30 a.m. | British Columbia (Cotter) | Quebec (Menard) |
| Draw 9 | ||
| 2:30 p.m. | Saskatchewan (Laycock) | Prince Edward Island (Casey) |
| 2:30 p.m. | British Columbia (Cotter) | Canada (Simmons) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) | Alberta (Koe) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Ontario (Howard) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| Draw 10 | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Quebec (Menard) | Ontario (Howard) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Alberta (Koe) | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Manitoba (McEwen) | Canada (Simmons) |
| 7:30 p.m. | New Brunswick (Kennedy) | Saskatchewan (Laycock) |
| Wednesday, March 9 (Draw 11) | ||
| 9:30 a.m. | British Columbia (Cotter) | Alberta (Koe) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Ontario (Howard) | Prince Edward Island (Casey) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Saskatchewan (Laycock) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) | Canada (Simmons) |
| Draw 12 | ||
| 2:30 p.m. | New Brunswick (Kennedy) | Canada (Simmons) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Saskatchewan (Laycock) | Manitoba (McEwen) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Alberta (Koe) | Quebec (Menard) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Ontario (Howard) | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) |
| Draw 13 | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) | Quebec (Menard) |
| 7:30 p.m. | New Brunswick (Kennedy) | Prince Edward Island (Casey) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Manitoba (McEwen) | British Columbia (Cotter) |
| Thursday, March 10 (Draw 14) | ||
| 9:30 a.m. | Ontario (Howard) | Saskatchewan (Laycock) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Canada (Simmons) | Alberta (Koe) |
| 9:30 a.m. | British Columbia (Cotter) | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Prince Edward Island (Casey) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| Draw 15 | ||
| 2:30 p.m. | Prince Edward Island (Casey) | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) |
| 2:30 p.m. | British Columbia (Cotter) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| 2:30 p.m. | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) | Manitoba (McEwen) |
| 2:30 p.m. | New Brunswick (Kennedy) | Quebec (Menard) |
| Draw 16 | ||
| 7:30 p.m. | Manitoba (McEwen) | Quebec (Menard) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) | New Brunswick (Kennedy) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Canada (Simmons) | Ontario (Howard) |
| 7:30 p.m. | Saskatchewan (Laycock) | Alberta (Koe) |
| Friday, March 11 (Draw 17) | ||
| 9:30 a.m. | British Columbia (Cotter) | New Brunswick (Kennedy) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Manitoba (McEwen) | Prince Edward Island (Casey) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Quebec (Menard) | Northwest Territories (Koe) |
| 9:30 a.m. | Northern Ontario (Jacobs) | Newfoundland and Labrador (Gushue) |
Alberta 10, New Brunswick 4
Kevin Koe's Alberta team started the game with the hammer and set the tone early with two scores in the opening end.
All four players on Alberta's side had percentages of over 90, which went a long way in accounting for the lopsided final tally. Although New Brunswick hung relatively tough and put two scores up in the fifth end to cut the deficit to 4-3, Alberta roared back with three each in the sixth and eighth ends to coast to a win.
New Brunswick had just capped off Saturday's slate with an 11-end win over the Northwest Territories, so perhaps a letdown was destined to be in store. The team will try to bounce back late Sunday against Manitoba.
Canada 5, Saskatchewan 4
Simmons and Co. jumped out to a 3-0 lead through three ends, only to see that advantage evaporate as Saskatchewan scrapped their way back into the contest.
After two-point showings in the sixth and eighth ends by the underdogs, with one seventh-end score by Canada in between, the game was tied. Canada pulled it out, though, with a decisive winner in the 10th end.
"Easy games? Here? Not ever," said Simmons, per Curling.ca. "They're non-existent, I think, so we have to be prepared for that. That was a good game, another great team. We got a little bit of a jump early, and then it was a mental marathon. Lucky to be able to pull that one out."
There will continue to be a target on Simmons' team throughout the competition, which will make their run fascinating to watch unfold.
Saskatchewan got a rotten draw out of the gates and must regroup quickly following one-score losses to Canada and Northern Ontario.
Manitoba 6, Ontario 2
The two teams combined for only two scores in the first four ends, gridlocked at one apiece at the game's approximate midpoint. Then Manitoba kicked into high gear, avoiding the perilous pitfall that would've been a 0-2 start with an exceptional finish.
Two points in the fifth end gave Manitoba some breathing room, and three more in the seventh sealed the win. It was a fine recovery from skip Mike McEwen's side, which lost 5-4 to Newfoundland and Labrador in their Brier opener in 11 ends.
This was also McEwen's maiden victory on the Briers stage (h/t the Canadian Press, via CBC.ca), so that has to give Manitoba a shot of confidence heading into the next phase of the draw.
Northern Ontario 5, Quebec 4
Capping off the morning in dramatic fashion was an extremely high-quality showdown in which all participants' percentages were 90 or better. When Northern Ontario put up a deuce in the second end, Quebec responded with two points of their own in the third.
A point in the ninth put Northern Ontario on the precipice of a big win, only to see Quebec return the favor with an equalizer in the 10th end. Finally the eventual victors clinched it with an 11th-end point to reach the 2-0 mark.
Skip Jean-Michel Menard's Quebec outfit has to be a bit down after the defeat, but facing Canada and Northern Ontario out of the gates is no easy task. Saskatchewan are in the same boat, so it wouldn't be wise to sleep on either 0-2 team despite the lackluster bottom-line results.
Canada 6, Northwest Territories 3
The theme of starting hot continued for Team Canada as they moved to 3-0 with a less stressful win than they had in the early morning draw.
A two-point first end preceded a lengthy period of scoreless play until the Northwest Territories belatedly answered with two in the fifth end to even the score. But two points in both the sixth and eighth ends allowed Canada to create the necessary separation to remain undefeated.
John Morris put up a game-high 79 points and had a shot percentage of 99 to boost Canada to victory. The team's Brier defense is going quite well thus far, and it will proceed to face Prince Edward Island before a marquee clash with Northern Ontario on Monday.
Ontario 4, Newfoundland and Labrador 3
It took 11 ends, but Ontario managed to escape with a close win to avoid dropping a second game of the day.
Brad Gushue's Newfoundland and Labrador bunch managed to force extra time due to a clutch point in the 10th end. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough in the end to avoid from dropping to 1-1 overall.
It's a quite turnaround for Gushue and Co. as they prepare to take on the Northwest Territories in Draw 5. The latter figures to be eager to bounce back after falling short a duel with Canada and desperately needing a victory following three opening losses.
Alberta 10, Prince Edward Island 4
One of the rare blowouts from Sunday's games, Alberta didn't pull away until very late, courtesy of a five-point explosion in the eighth end.
Prince Edward Island saw British Columbia put up three points in the seventh end of a conceded 8-4 loss in their opener. The trend of poor finishes continued in their second game, so skip Adam Casey's crew must find a way to improve in that area soon.
Alberta's 20 total points on Sunday could well be a source of momentum and aid the team's chances moving forward. A great chance to go 3-1 is on the horizon Monday morning in a matchup with the Northwest Territories.
Saskatchewan 8, British Columbia 4
Instead of being rattled by a close call against Canada earlier in the morning, Saskatchewan regrouped to close out Draw 4 with a decisive win over B.C.
Skip Steve Laycock emphasized how important the "W" was, saying, per Curling.ca, "They're all important at this point, especially with the 0-2 start. We played a couple of pretty good games, but against some hot teams. To go 0-3 and playing Gushue in the morning would not have been a lot of fun."
The four-point seventh end made all the difference for Saskatchewan, who otherwise would have been in serious trouble despite playing quality matches against prime contenders Northern Ontario and Canada.
Québec 4, Prince Edward Island 2
It was a scoreless match through five ends before Prince Edward Island took a 1-0 lead through six. It was a 2-1 lead into the 10th where Quebec racked up three points for the victory.
Prince Edward nearly avoided its second loss of the day despite shooting 83 percent compared to 91 for Quebec.
Jean-Michel Menard led the way for the winning team with a match-high 79 points and 99 percent shooting.
Manitoba 6, New Brunswick 3
Manitoba used a three-point sixth to to grab a 4-1 and never looked back en route to its second win of the day.
The teams' shooting percentage was nearly identical, with New Brunswick actually coming in better at 93 percent over 92 for Manitoba.
Mike McEwen had 78 points on 98 percent shooting for the victors, while Marc Lecocq had 80 points on 100 percent shooting in a valiant effort for naught.
Northern Ontario 5, British Columbia 3
Northern Ontario notched its second win of the day with an efficient two-point victory by scoring in half of the 10 ends.
B.C. did tie the match at 2-2 in the fourth, but managed just one more point the rest of the way.
Three Northern Ontario players shot at least 90 percent, led by Ryan Fry at 96 with a match-high 77 points. B.C. dropped to 0-2 on the day.
Newfoundland and Labrador 6, Northwest Territories 3
Despite jumping ahead 1-0 after the first end, Northwest Territories dropped to 0-3 with a defeat at the hands of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Northwest climbed to within one after eight ends, but Newfoundland and Labrador broke open a close match with two points in the ninth.
Geoff Walker was one of the stars of the match, notching 71 points with a shot percentage of 99 for Newfoundland and Labrador.
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