Glenn Howard close to making Brier history
Written by on March 11th, 2010 in Latest News.
Ontario skip Glenn Howard, right, and third Richard Hart discuss a shot as they continue their unbeaten streak at the Brier in Halifax. (Andrew Vaughn/Canadian Press)
Glenn Howard rolled to his 10th consecutive victory at the Brier on Thursday, securing first place in the round robin while leaving his Ontario rink on track to become the third straight undefeated team at the Canadian men’s curling championship.
The veteran skip orchestrated a 9-3 win over the Northwest Territories/Yukon rink in the afternoon draw, leaving an evening match with Alberta’s Kevin Koe as the last hurdle before the playoffs in Halifax.
Kevin Martin, the Olympic gold medallist, posted perfect 13-0 records in each of the previous two Briers.
Northern Ontario also continued its march, eliminating Quebec with a 9-3 win in the afternoon.
Skip Brad Jacobs finished the round robin with a 9-2 record, and could face Howard in the 1-2 page playoff if Alberta loses to Howard in the round robin final Thursday night.
Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton, a two-time Brier winner, prolonged hope of a tie-breaker with a 7-6 win over Saskatchewan to raise his record to 7-4.
P.E.I. won its second game of the Brier, pounding New Brunswick 9-4.
Koe, Jacobs in playoffs
In Thursday’s morning draw, Alberta and Northern Ontario clinched playoff berths.
Koe beat his brother Jamie’s Northwest Territories/Yukon rink 8-3 to improve to 8-2.
Meanwhile, Jacobs beat Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue 8-4 to also post an 8-2 record.
Gushue (7-3) is still very much in playoff contention but must beat Quebec (5-4) Thursday night to avoid the possibility of playing a tiebreaker.
