News Masters

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Team Brad Jacobs planned to put on a show for their Northern Ontario fans this week during the Masters at Memorial Gardens.

That’s exactly what they did Thursday night as the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., crew scored four points in the seventh end to put the stamp on a 7-3 victory over Calgary’s Team Kevin Koe in pool play.

The crowd roared and moose calls echoed through the packed arena that’s home to the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League.

“Just getting a big win in front of a good kinda hometown crowd and to hear the cheers and to give the recognition back to the crowd, raising the broom in hand, it feels really nice,” Team Jacobs second E.J. Harnden said. “There are not too many opportunities where we get to play in front of what we would deem a hometown crowd. We talked about that on the way here, on the drive, and it feels amazing.

“We’re going to cherish every moment and try to take this as far as we can. It feels though if we play well and get deep into the event, I think we’ll continue to pack the house a little bit more. We feed off of the energy and take advantage of this opportunity as much as we can.”

The four-time Grand Slam title winner Jacobs bounced back into the win column and improved to a 2-1 record after losing to Team Glenn Howard in an extra end during the morning draw.

Harnden gave credit to Scott Howard, who has moved up from third to skip this week while his dad Glenn is away on a trip to Scotland. Adam Spencer is filling in at vice.

“We just weren’t as sharp as we wanted to be,” Harnden said. “We kind of didn’t ever really string together eight shots and play full ends.

“We had a good debrief but didn’t let that game bother us and we were excited to get out here tonight knowing it was going to be a big crowd, get on TV and play a really top team and ‘start’ our roll, hopefully, right now.”

Jacobs started with the hammer and converted in the opening frame after making a great hit and roll to hide under a guard with his first skip stone that set up the draw for two with his last.

The 2014 Olympic gold medallist Jacobs poured on the pressure in the second to sit three counters and force Koe to draw for a single that almost rolled too deep but locked on the brakes just in time.

After a blank in three, Jacobs attempted a tricky chip shot off of his guard in four to try and spill both rocks into the empty house for two, however, only the shooter had enough momentum to roll in and count for just a single.

Koe hit and rolled for the tying two-pointer in five and would have held the hammer coming home but opted to shake hands after Jacobs’ strong seventh end to score four.

“It was one of those games where we kind of felt like we had control but any moment that can flip,” Harnden said. “It was really just focusing in on being as precise as we could and hopefully, set up at least a deuce and the opportunity to get a four was a bonus. To be able to finish it in seven and to not have to play eight was great.”

The reigning Brier champion and world silver medallist Koe dropped to a 1-2 record with one must-win group game remaining.

Regina’s Team Matt Dunstone qualified for the playoffs with authority. Dunstone fired a ridiculous runback triple takeout with the last shot of the game to score the winning two points and defeat Winnipeg’s Team Mike McEwen 5-4.

“I knew, going into this game, we had two chances to qualify and you want to get that out of the way on the first one,” Dunstone said. “Going into that end, I just wanted a shot to win the game and hopefully, next time it’s a little bit easier but hey, we’ll take the win any way we can get it.

“Still a little bit to play for tomorrow with hammer on the line for the playoffs so we still want to come out swinging for that one.”

What was Dunstone thinking when he threw the shot-of-the-year candidate (and the year just started)?

“Just throw it good,” he said. “It’s one of those ones you hit a millimetre either which way and it’s a guess as to where it might go but you just throw it good, hit it pretty close to where you want to and hope the good things happen.

“Obviously with those shots you miss them a lot more than you make them so any time you get in that situation, tell yourself to just throw it good.”

McEwen wrapped up round-robin play early with a 1-3 record and has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Winnipeg’s Team Jennifer Jones and Team Anna Hasselborg of Sweden both punched playoff tickets on the women’s side at 3-0. Jones defeated Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa 5-2 while Hasselborg scored two in the seventh and stole a pair in the eighth to rally past Scotland’s Team Eve Muirhead 4-3.

“I felt like this was probably our best game tonight,” Jones said. “Just to come in, the first Slam, and perform well and qualify is exactly what we wanted to do.”

Only one of Jones or Hasselborg will head to the playoffs undefeated, however, as they face off Friday evening in the final round-robin draw.

“It’s always great heading into your last game at 3-0 feeling like you’re in a pretty good spot,” Jones said. “We’ll just go out tomorrow night, have some fun and see what we can do.”

Fujisawa sits at 1-2 while Muirhead slipped to a 0-2 record.

Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., topped Team Casey Scheidegger of Lethbridge, Alta., 7-3.

Einarson, who won the Players’ Championship last season, moved up to a 2-1 record while Team Scheidegger finished pool play at 2-2 and await the results of the remaining draws to find out their fate.

Saskatchewan’s Amber Holland is filling in at skip for Scheidegger, who is expecting her second child and resting at home.

The Masters features 15 of the top men’s teams and 15 of the top women’s teams from around the world. Both divisions are split into three pools of five for round-robin play with the top eight overall qualifying for the weekend playoffs. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with the finals set for Sunday.

The action continues Friday at 8 a.m. ET with broadcast coverage resuming at Noon ET on Sportsnet and streaming online at Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).

NOTES: The Masters is the first of six Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events on the season and one of four majors in the series. … The total prize purse is $300,000 and is split evenly between the men’s and women’s divisions. Winners receive $35,000 plus berths towards the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup taking place April 29 to May 3, 2020, in Olds, Alta. … Also up for grabs at the Masters are Pinty’s Cup bonus points. The leaders following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship in April will capture the Pinty’s Cup with additional prize money awarded.