News Elite 10

When the Grand Slam of Curling returns to Fort McMurray, Alta., for the inaugural Elite 10 event, there’s one team you can bet will be the fan favourite: Brad Gushue’s rink from St. John’s.

It might seem odd at first that the crowd would strongly support a team from the other side of Canada, but with a number of former Newfoundland and Labrador residents now living in northern Alberta to work in the oil stands, they were out in full force during the Grand Slam’s previous stop to Fort Mac in March for the National.

The crowd roared for every shot the Gushue team made and waved Newfoundland and Labrador flags in the stands.

Gushue’s rink fell short at the Brier earlier that month but with the crowd on their side in Fort McMurray, they finished the round robin of the National with a 4-1 record, defeated Oskar Eriksson 7-5 in the quarterfinals and edged Sven Michel 7-6 in the semis to face Glenn Howard for the National title.

Gushue’s team put up a fight and held their ground through the match, but Howard owned the hammer in the final end and scored a single to win 7-6.

Gushue praised the Fort McMurray crowd for supporting his team every step of the way.

“They cheered us on all week and it meant a lot to us,” Gushue said after the National. “It was fun to go to the rink and we were kind of concerned after the Brier about a bit of a letdown but with the support that they gave us, there was no chance that that was going to happen.”

The Elite 10 runs March 18-22, 2015, at the Suncor Community Leisure Centre at MacDonald Island Park in Fort McMurray. For ticket information, click here.