Jacobs defeats Dunstone to win second career Brier title
Alberta’s Team Jacobs captured the Montana’s Brier title with a 5-3 victory over Manitoba’s Team Dunstone during Sunday’s final in Kelowna, B.C.
It’s the second career Brier title for skip Brad Jacobs, whose team will represent Canada on home ice at the world men’s curling championship, March 29 to April 6, in Moose Jaw, Sask.
The Calgary-based club of Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert — ranked second in Canada — topped Pool B in round-robin play with an unblemished 8-0 record. Jacobs sustained his lone loss of the week to Canada’s Team Gushue 7-4 in the Page 1-2 qualifiers and bounced back with a 10-6 win over Nova Scotia’s Team Purcell to advance to the Page 3-4 playoffs. A 6-5 victory over Manitoba’s Team Carruthers set up a rematch against Gushue in the semifinal with Jacobs prevailing 7-5 in a third straight must-win game to reach the championship final.
Dunstone, third Colton Lott, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden finished first in Pool A with a 7-1 record. The No. 1 ranked team in Canada defeated Saskatchewan’s Team McEwen 6-5 in the Page 1-2 qualifiers and topped Gushue 7-4 in the Page 1-2 game to move straight through to the final.
After four consecutive blanks to start, Dunstone capitalized on a Jacobs miss to score a deuce in the fifth end to open the scoring. Jacobs was forced to draw for a single in the sixth but tied it in the seventh as Dunstone jammed to give up a steal.
Dunstone was forced to hit for one point in the ninth to reclaim the lead 3-2, however, that gave Jacobs the all-important hammer for the 10th end and he executed a takeout to count three points.
Jacobs, from Sault Ste. Marie, captured his first Brier title in 2013 while playing with his cousins, E.J. and Ryan Harnden, and third Ryan Fry out of Northern Ontario.