Tim Hortons Brier 2019: Tuesday Curling Results, Updated Draw and Schedule
The third day of the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier came to a wild conclusion in Brandon, Manitoba, with a sudden-death scenario between Prince Edward Island and Yukon. The winning squad pulled into a tie for the final clinching spot out of Pool A.
Team Canada is looking for its third Brier championship in a row. On Tuesday afternoon, Team Canada defeated New Brunswick 8-7, which makes its record in the tournament 4-1—good for second behind 5-0 Alberta—with two more draws in Pool B before the Championship Pool begins.
Tuesday afternoon saw a surprising skip change for Team Northwest Territories during its Draw 10 win over Nunavut.
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A few standouts have already clinched a spot in the next round, but plenty of teams finished Tuesday play with must-wins on the horizon in order to advance.
Delve deeper into Tuesday's action with a look at the results and a recap along with scheduling information for Wednesday below.
Tuesday Results
Draw 9
Manitoba def. Newfoundland and Labrador, 13-4.
Quebec def. Prince Edward Island, 8-5
Northern Ontario def. Saskatchewan, 7-5
Wild Card def. Yukon, 10-3
Draw 10
Alberta def. British Columbia, 9-5
Ontario def. Nova Scotia, 5-4
Northwest Territories def. Nunavut, 9-4
Canada def. New Brunswick, 8-7
Draw 11
Wild Card def. Quebec, 10-4
Northern Ontario def. Manitoba, 9-5
Yukon def. Prince Edward Island, 8-7
Saskatchewan def. Newfoundland and Labrador, 9-5
Wednesday Schedule
Draw 12 (10 a.m. ET)
Ontario vs. New Brunswick
Nunavut vs. Alberta
Nova Scotia vs. Canada
Northwest Territories vs. British Columbia
Draw 13 (3 p.m. ET)
Northern Ontario vs. Yukon
Saskatchewan vs. Wild Card
Quebec vs. Newfoundland and Labrador
Prince Edward Island vs. Manitoba
Draw 14 (8 p.m. ET)
Nunavut vs. Canada
Northwest Territories vs. New Brunswick
Ontario vs. British Columbia
Nova Scotia vs. Alberta
Tuesday Recap
Draw 9
Hometown Team Manitoba improved to 3-2 in Pool A play with a dominant 13-4 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador. The win was huge for Team Manitoba as it fights to maintain a top-four spot in Pool A. Newfoundland and Labrador never stood a chance and eventually had to concede following the eighth end.
One young fan skipped school to support his team in person:
Northern Ontario remained undefeated, as Saskatchewan was forced to concede following the ninth end. Saskatchewan had a chance to come back but couldn't capitalize on Northern Ontario's failure to score in the eighth and ninth ends.
Meanwhile, the Wild Card team won its fourth draw in a row, as Yukon was forced to concede after just eight ends. Wild Card posted a 6-0 score in the fourth end to put the draw out of reach.
Draw 10
The main storyline to emerge from Draw 10 came when Jamie Koe decided to remove himself as skip in favor of David Aho. After the draw, Koe explained his decision to Curling Canada.
Meanwhile, Team Alberta skip Kevin Koe pointed out that, even though the team is undefeated, it has yet to play its best. "That's probably a good thing that we're winning with not yet our best game," Koe told Curling Canada. It's a good thing for the Albertans but disconcerting to the rest of the field.
Team Canada squeaked out a win over New Brunswick with two points in the 10th end via tap-back on the last rock. Geoff Walker, Brett Gallant and Mark Nichols stepped up for Canada, as skip Brad Gushue had a team-low 84 percent accuracy rate.
However, Gushue's 84 percent rating matched New Brunswick's team-high—illustrating how tough of an out the back-to-back champions will be at this year's Brier.
Canada's next opponent is Nova Scotia in Draw 12 on Wednesday morning, and it's a must-win draw for Nova Scotia, as the team sits in a three-way tie at 3-2 in Pool B.
Nova Scotia dropped its Draw 10 matchup to Ontario, and it's a costly loss, as the team's last two remaining draws in pool play come against Alberta and Canada.
Draw 11
The closest matchup on Tuesday night was Prince Edward Island and Yukon. The two teams were knotted at seven through 10 ends and forced an 11th. That said, the most stakes were found between Northern Ontario and Manitoba.
Team Yukon ended up on top with one stone in the 11th, which keeps its hopes alive, as the team pulled into a tie for fourth place in Pool A with Manitoba. Prince Edward Island is totally out of the race at 1-5.
Manitoba kept it close through six ends, but two stones in the ninth end by Northern Ontario put the contest out of reach. The conceded loss, while against an undefeated team, is a major blow to Manitoba's chances of advancing out of Pool A, as it enters the final draws at 3-3 and sharing fourth place.
In between those two extremes was Wild Card's convincing win over Quebec behind 94 percent accuracy from Brad Thiessen. After conceding the first draw of the Brier, Wild Card has been on fire and poses a real threat to the likes of Alberta, Canada and Northern Ontario as the Championship Pool approaches.
Tuesday ended better than it started for Saskatchewan, as the team improved to 4-2 after dropping its morning draw to Northern Ontario.
Saskatchewan's final draw in Pool A will be against Wild Card with a chance to tie for second place in the pool. With the Draw 11 win, however, Saskatchewan is guaranteed at least a tiebreaker for the Championship Pool.
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