Brier: Saskatchewan’s McEwen faces must-win after loss to Dunstone

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After starting the 2025 Montana’s Brier with seven straight victories, Mike McEwen and Team Saskatchewan suddenly find themselves in a must-win game on Friday night.

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Following a loss to Alberta’s Brad Jacobs in the final round robin game on Thursday to cement them as the second seed in Pool B at the Canadian men’s curling championship in Kelowna B.C., McEwen and his Saskatoon squad featuring third Colton Flasch, second Kevin Marsh and lead Daniel Marsh lost a second consecutive game on Friday afternoon in the 1 vs. 2 page qualifier against Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone, who finished as the top seed in Pool A with a 7-1 record.

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While McEwen held a 3-0 record against Dunstone in his Brier career — including a 6-5 win last year in the 3 vs. 4 playoff game — it was Dunstone getting the better of the Saskatchewan import from Manitoba this time as he beat McEwen 6-5.

Saskatchewan now faces a must-win game on Friday night (8:30 p.m.) against Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers, who finished third place in Pool B with a 6-2 record.

The winner of the 3 vs. 4 page qualifier will advance to Saturday’s 3 vs. 4 page playoff game (2:30 p.m.) while the loser will be eliminated from the event.

As for the matchup against Dunstone, it was a back-and-forth affair between the two rinks.

Following single points by each team in the first two ends and a blank in the third, Dunstone scored the first deuce of the game in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.

However, McEwen responded with a deuce of his own in the fifth to tie game 3-3 at the break.

In the sixth, it appeared McEwen was destined to put a steal on the board however Dunstone threw a spectacular heavy takeout with his last to score two.

After a blank in the seventh, McEwen was looking to score a deuce in the eighth but he was off the mark with his raise attempt, as Dunstone stole a single point to go up 6-3.

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From there, Dunstone limited McEwen to one in the ninth forcing Saskatchewan to try and steal two points in the final end.

And while McEwen and company put together a solid end, Dunstone secured the win with a double takeout against three Saskatchewan stones, giving up a steal of one to win 6-5.

In the loss, Daniel Marsh curled at 96 per cent to lead the team while McEwen was at 90 per cent. For Manitoba, lead Ryan Harden also curled at 96 per cent while Dunstone was at 95 per cent.

In the other 1 vs. 2 page qualifier on Friday afternoon, Brad Gushue and Team Canada beat Jacobs and Team Alberta 7-4 to advance to Saturday’s 1 vs. 2 page playoff game against Dunstone while Jacobs will play in the other 3 vs. 4 page qualifier on Friday night against Owen Purcell and Team Nova Scotia.

The winner of the 1 vs. 2 page playoff game between Dunstone and Gushue will advance directly to Sunday’s final (6 p.m.) while the loser will play in Sunday’s semifinal (12 p.m.) against the winner of the 3 vs. 4 page playoff game.

tshire@postmedia.com

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