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Tim Hortons Brier 2019: Wednesday Curling Results, Updated Draw and Schedule
March 6, 2019
The 2019 Tim Hortons Brier wrapped up round-robin pool play on Wednesday in Brandon, Manitoba.
The first two draws of the day contained must-win situations for several teams hoping to make it to the Championship Pool, which begins on March 9. Fans on hand were excited to witness all of the drama:
Reigning back-to-back champions Team Canada took care of business with relative ease against a team that couldn't afford to lose. While an undefeated Team Alberta blew out winless Team Nunavut in Draw 12, the hometown team went down to the wire in Draw 13 as they hold their collective breath to see if they'll advance.
The top four teams of each eight-team pool advanced to the Championship Pool. The morning and afternoon draws set the stage for a dramatic Draw 14 Wednesday evening as teams fight for the last remaining slots.
Two decisive Draw 14 matches were nail-biters and needed all 10 ends to determine which teams would make it out of Pool B.
Below is a look at Championship Pool scheduling as well as results and a recap of Wednesday's action.
Results
Draw 12
New Brunswick def. Ontario, 9-8
Alberta def. Nunavut, 13-2
Canada def. Nova Scotia, 9-2
British Columbia def. Northwest Territories, 9-5
Draw 13
Northern Ontario def. Yukon, 10-5
Wild Card def. Saskatchewan, 8-2
Quebec def. Newfoundland and Labrador, 14-4
Manitoba def. Prince Edward Island, 7-6
Draw 14
Canada def. Nunavut, 11-2
New Brunswick def. Northwest Territories, 8-2
Ontario def. British Columbia, 10-9
Alberta def. Nova Scotia, 7-5
Schedule
March 9
Draw 21 at 3 p.m. EST
Draw 22 at 8 p.m. EST
March 10
Draw 23 at 2 p.m. EST
Draw 24 at 8 p.m. EST
Recap
Draw 12
New Brunswick improved to 2-4 on the tournament with an 11th end win over Ontario. While New Brunswick's record is only good for sixth place in Pool B, a loss would have put an end to any hope of advancing to the Championship Pool.
New Brunswick skip Terry Odishaw came up big when his team needed him most—hitting in the 11th end to edge out Team Ontario. "I used to get butterflies when you were throwing that type of shot," Odishaw told John Korobanik of Curling Canada of his hit and stick shot. "Now you're just afraid to miss."
New Brunswick can't afford to miss against Northwest Territories on Wednesday night.
Alberta's overwhelming defeat of Nunavut was to be expected, but the relative ease with which the team has coasted through Pool B will heighten expectations as the Albertans have to face off against the other best teams in the tournament. Not for nothing: Team Canada's lone loss came against Team Alberta in Draw 10, but it was a narrow 7-6 defeat.
Canada improved to 5-1 with a convincing victory over Nova Scotia, dropping Nova Scotia to 3-3. The draw meant infinitely more to Nova Scotia, who dropped Draw 10 on Tuesday afternoon to Ontario. Nova Scotia needed to beat 3-3 Ontario to boost their record ahead of this draw against Canada and their final draw Wednesday night against Alberta.
Heading into Wednesday night, Nova Scotia is in fifth place behind Ontario in Pool B.
Draw 13
Team Wild Card won their sixth draw in a row after conceding Draw 1 to Northern Ontario, who finished pool play a perfect 7-0 after forcing Team Yukon to concede after just eight ends.
Team Manitoba and Prince Edward Island went the full 10 ends in a matchup that the hometown needed. With the win, Manitoba finishes its round robin schedule with a 4-3 record.
Manitoba's win paired with Yukon's loss eliminated Yukon and advanced the hometown side to the championship round.
Team Quebec pulled off a 10-point victory over Newfoundland and Labrador, but in fifth place at 3-4 and no remaining draws, it was too little too late for them in Pool A.
The teams advancing from Pool A are Northern Ontario, Wild Card, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Draw 14
Team Canada (6-1) put the finishing touches on their glide through Pool B with a 11-2 win over winless Nunavut in only eight ends. After the win, Mark Nichols told TSN Canada that the team isn't yet thinking about a three-peat.
At the same time, Team Alberta remained undefeated by defeating Nova Scotia in a back-and-forth battle. Heading into the 10th end, Alberta had pulled away with a 7-4 lead. Nova Scotia couldn't recover.
The loss put an end to Nova Scotia's Brier run. Nova Scotia's elimination was confirmed by Team Ontario's win over British Columbia. Ontario and British Columbia both finished pool play with a 4-3 record, and their matchup confirmed how closely they resemble each other.
Through seven ends, British Columbia and Ontario were tied at seven. Ontario took a narrow 8-7 lead into the ninth end, just for British Columbia to notch two and take the lead right back in the ninth. Ultimately, Ontario's two stones in the 10th end gave them the win and a ticket to the Championship Pool.
New Brunswick's win in eight ends over Northwest Territories proved fruitless. With a 3-4 record, New Brunswick needed either Nova Scotia or Ontario to lose in order to force a tiebreaker for fourth place. The four teams advancing out of Pool B are Alberta, Canada, Ontario and British Columbia.
The full schedule and standings for the Tim Hortons Brier are available on Curling.ca.