Howard, Ontario book spot in Brier final
Written by on March 12th, 2010 in Latest News.
Ontario skip Glenn Howard, left, looks on as North Ontario skip Brad Jacobs calls a shot at the Brier in Halifax on Friday. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
Ontario skip Glenn Howard weathered a series of uncharacteristic mistakes Friday to hold on for an 8-6 win over an upstart team from Northern Ontario in the 1 versus 2 Page playoff at the Tim Hortons Brier in Halifax.
Howard completed an open hit for two in the 10th end to beat Brad Jacobs, a 24-year-ancient who became one of the event’s most surprising tales by leading his rink to a second-place end in the round robin standings.
With the win, Ontario (12-0) booked a spot in Sunday’s final, with a chance to become the third straight team to end undefeated at the Canadian men’s curling championship. Kevin Martin led Alberta to flawless 13-0 records the last two years.
Jacobs still has another chance. He heads to the semifinal on Saturday night, where he will face the winner of the 3 versus 4 Page playoff between Alberta’s Kevin Koe or Newfoundland and Labrador’s Brad Gushue.
The evening started in Ontario’s favour, especially after Howard’s veteran rink made the savvy choice to enter the arena wearing the distinctive yellow sou’wester rainhats favoured by Nova Scotia curling fans. The crowd cheered, and Howard built on the momentum with a draw to the button to open a 2-0 lead in the second end.
Ontario had made a habit of scoring huge ends in the round robin. Howard prompted the Northwest Territories/Yukon rink into an early handshake by scoring four in the eighth end of a 9-3 win on Thursday, just one day after opening a game with four against Manitoba.
“We can’t compensate for the difference in experience,” Jacobs had said a few hours before taking the ice. “I mean, Glenn has been in this situation so many times. We’ve never been in this situation in our lives.”
None of that experience prevented Howard, 47, from making a critical error in the third end. He rubbed a guard with his last shot, allowing Jacobs an open draw for three. The youngster did not miss his opportunity, giving the underdogs from Northern Ontario a surprising 3-2 lead.
Howard triggered an audible gasp in the crowd in the very next end. He was light on a draw with the hammer, allowing Jacobs a steal of one, and a 4-2 lead heading to the fifth. Howard misfired again in that end, rolling the hammer too far off a takeout to count one when he was facing an simple deuce.
There were also some incredible shots. Ontario third Richard Hart snuck his final stone of the sixth through a pair of guards without an inch to spare on either side — only to have E.J. Harnden, Northern Ontario’s third, follow him through the very same opening for a hit moments later.
Ontario rallied to take three in the eighth, giving Howard a 6-5 lead heading into crunch time. Jacobs was within the width of a dime from counting two with the hammer in the ninth, but settled for one.
Northern Ontario has won the Brier four times since 1927, but not once since Jacobs has been alive. Al Hackner led the region to its last win in 1985, the same year Northern Ontario’s current skip was born.
Long before they took the ice Friday night, Jacobs and his teammates had discussed the possibility of losing to an undefeated team, and concluded they would not be disappointed. They would, after all, still have another chance on Saturday.
“That’s the ideal situation,” Jacobs said. “Having two lives is gigantic.”
