Hot start helps Gushue glide past Dunstone in Champions Cup
Team Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., scored a deuce in the first, stole a point in the second and cruised to a 5-2 victory over Team Matt Dunstone of Wadena, Sask., during the second draw Thursday of the Humpty’s Champions Cup at Calgary’s WinSport Arena.
Team Gushue shot 90 per cent as a unit with their skip leading the way firing at an outstanding 98 per cent pace.
Gushue said the good start was key, especially since he was concerned coming into the event as it was their first time on the ice since last month’s Canadian mixed doubles championship.
“We fortunately made two really good shots on our last two,” Gushue said. “The guys swept both of them right to the button. We were playing in a pretty small area and got a deuce. Then we played a great second end and forced Matt to draw to the button and he was just a hair heavy and got a steal. With a bit of anxiety coming in of not practising for two-and-a-half weeks to get off to a 3-0 start after two made us feel pretty good and got the confidence back up. From that point on we played really solid.”
He added: “I thought we communicated really well and certainly nice getting back out on the ice after two-and-a-half weeks sitting around the house isolating.”
Humpty’s Champions Cup: Scores and standings | Draw schedule | Broadcast schedule
Gushue won the Canadian mixed doubles championship with Kerri Einarson and said it certainly boosted his confidence as well heading into the final stretch of the bubble for him.
“I felt much better playing the mixed doubles than I did in the Brier,” Gushue said. “I got used to the bubble, what to expect and got a little bit more comfortable. Coming back in now, I feel like I’m in a better place than I was probably at the Brier and we’re all kind of in the same boat. Whenever you go into a two-month journey, the first week or two feels pretty daunting. Now we’re getting towards the end of it and there’s some light at the end of the tunnel, so now it’s just a matter of enjoying the next couple weeks and hopefully win a bunch of games.”
Dunstone, who earned bronze at last month’s Brier, was limited to a single in three and Gushue took two more points in four. After back-to-back blanks, Dunstone was held to just one more point in seven.
The Humpty’s Champions Cup is the first of back-to-back Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events featuring 12 of the top men’s teams and 12 of the top women’s teams from around the world. The series is testing a new rule at the Humpty’s Champions Cup called the no tick zone. A rock touching the centre line, in the free guard zone, may not be moved off the centre line by the opposing team until the sixth rock of the end.
Although the no tick zone didn’t impact Gushue’s game, he said he loves the idea.
“I think there’s a lot of teams utilizing that now in a close game, like mid-game or even early game,” Gushue said. “This is now going to kind of get back to the old rules or the old style where there’s a lot more rocks in play and a little bit more play in the four-foot. I’m excited about it this week. It’s a nice switch, especially when we’re playing two (Slams) back-to-back. I think it’ll provide enough difference from one event to another.”
Elsewhere in Draw 2, Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat made a double takeout with the last shot of the game to count two points and a 6-4 decision over Switzerland’s Team Peter de Cruz. Both teams earned medals this past Sunday at the world men’s curling championship with Mouat claiming silver and de Cruz capturing bronze.
In women’s play, Tracy Fleury picked up the win in her first game with her East St. Paul, Man., team this season defeating South Korea’s Team Min-Ji Kim 5-3. Fleury missed the Scotties Tournament of Hearts to look after her young daughter Nina, who was diagnosed with infantile spasms in November.
“It was a lot of fun,” Fleury said. “I think it felt a lot more natural than I was expecting. I was pretty nervous going in because I hadn’t played a game in so long but it really came together once we got out there. I think it really helps our confidence getting a good start in the event. We learned a lot in that game.”
Fleury jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third as Kim’s last draw did not curl enough and connected with a counter to cough up a big steal. After singles back and forth in four and five, Fleury stole another point in six to make it 5-1. Kim was threatening for a multiple score but jammed the hit on her final shot.
“We kept it kind of simple in the first couple ends,” Fleury said. “Then we were able to put some pressure on them, make her shoot against a few and we got a miss.”
Although Kim recovered with a deuce in seven, Fleury connected on a double takeout with her first skip stone in eight to empty the house and run her opponent out of rocks.
“We definitely felt loose out there,” Fleury said. “We’re just enjoying the moment and enjoying being together again.”
Fleury will return home after the event and Chelsea Carey, who filled in at skip during the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, will take the reins again for the Princess Auto Players’ Championship.
Scotland’s Team Eve Muirhead fended off Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg 6-5 with a single in the final frame.
Round-robin play continues with the third draw Thursday at 6 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. local time on Sportsnet ONE with online streaming at Sportsnet Now (Canada) and Yare (international)
Pool play runs through to Saturday with quarterfinals and semifinals on Sunday and both finals set for Monday. The Princess Auto Players’ Championship begins Tuesday.
