Tim Hortons Brier 2016: Updated Curling Draw, Schedule After Saturday's Results

The 2016 edition of the Tim Hortons Brier continued Saturday with Kevin Koe's Alberta side at the center of attention.

Playing for a spot in Saturday night's semifinal against a Northern Ontario squad led by Brad Jacobs, Koe and Co. staved off Mike McEwen and Manitoba to secure a win. 

Here's a look at how things shook out Saturday at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario.

Alberta (Koe) Def. Manitoba (McEwen), 7-5

Squaring off in the No. 3 vs. No. 4 game set up by the Page playoff system, Alberta and Manitoba met for the second time since Brier play started.

And just like the previous clash in Draw 7, Alberta emerged victorious behind an efficient display by Koe, Marc Kennedy and Brent Laing.

After a blank end started things off, Alberta went on to take a 2-0 lead in the second end before building a 5-1 lead by the time the proceedings had reached the midway point. 

Manitoba responded by posting a 3-1 scoring advantage between the sixth and eighth ends, as Curling Canada documented on Twitter, but that was as close as McEwen's side would get:

Alberta went on to pad its lead in the ninth end with a single point, and that proved to be all Koe's side needed to stave off Manitoba.

Curling Canada snapped a picture once the result was official: 

Here's a look at how the players on both sides of the affair performed: 

Manitoba Player	Shots	Points	Percentage
Alberta Player	Shots	Points	Percentage
Denni Neufeld	20	79	99%
Matt Wozniak	20	79	99%
B.J. Neufeld	20	65	81%
Mike McEwen (S)	19	65	86%
Ben Hebert	19	67	88%
Brent Laing	20	79	99%
Marc Kennedy	20	74	93%
Kevin Koe (S)	20	73	91%

"We held on and we're on to the next one," Koe told reporters following the win, according to Curling Canada. 

Alberta (Koe) def. Northern Ontario (Jacobs), 6-5

In what can only be described as a back-and-forth affair, Alberta squeaked out a narrow 6-5 win thanks to some clutch play in the 10th and final end, according to TSN Curling on Twitter:

After trading singles for the first nine ends in perfect symmetrical fashion, Alberta bucked the trend when it needed to most and secured a spot in the final against Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Any time you can beat a great team in a tight game, it feels good," Koe said, per Curling Canada on Twitter. 

Alberta Player	Shots	Points	PCT
Northern Ontario Player	Shots	Points	PCT
Ben Hebert	20	73	91%
Brent Laing	20	72	90%
Marc Kennedy	20	71	89%
Kevin Koe (S)	20	66	83%
Ryan Harnden	20	69	86%
E.J. Harnden	20	72	90%
Ryan Fry	20	62	78%
Brad Jacobs (S)	20	64	80%

Complete video of the post-game scrum with all of the key figures from Saturday's clash can be viewed below, courtesy of Curling Canada: 

With a thrilling semifinal victory in hand, Alberta can turn its attention to Sunday's gold medal showdown against a strong Newfoundland side. And with the 7:30 p.m. ET start time fast approaching, Alberta will need to put Saturday's pair of victories in the rear-view mirror as it seeks to emerge with some shiny new hardware in hand.