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Brad Gushue kept the hopes of an entire province alive on Friday night, winning a do-or-die matchup against Team Ontario to advance in the playoff round at his final Brier.
Gushue downed Ontario’s Jayden King 12-6 in a game that was closer at times than the final score would suggest.
On the next sheet over, Team Canada rolled over Manitoba’s Braden Calvert by a score of 7-3.
Jacobs and Gushue will now face off on Saturday afternoon, with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Sunday.
WATCH | Team Gushue stays alive with win over Ontario:
Team Gushue inches closer to semifinals, defeating Ontario in life-saving game
Brad Gushue and Team N.L. rebounded Friday night from a tough loss earlier in the day at the Montana’s Brier, defeating Team Ontario 12-6 in nine ends. The win sets up a battle of the titans as Gushue will now face Team Canada and skip Brad Jacobs for the second time in the tournament. The CBC’s Leila Beaudoin reports from the Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s.
“We still have to win three more games,” Gushue said afterwards. “Tough road ahead, but obviously [this was] the first step tonight.”
Jacobs wasted no time getting off the ice after his game, which wrapped up after 10 p.m. local time. He didn’t attempt to hide his fatigue when speaking with reporters.
“I don’t care. I’m done with this day. That was a long day, we’re exhausted and I’m just ready for bed,” he said.
Brad Jacobs is coming off an Olympic gold-medal title, but he admits he’s feeling the effects of the tournament. (Paul Daly/The Canadian Press)
The team is fresh off a gold-medal performance in Italy, and has been battling illness since landing in Newfoundland. Despite that, they went 7-1 in the round robin at the Brier, losing only to Team Gushue.
Both Gushue and Jacobs lost their playoff openers on Friday afternoon, meaning their potential path to the championship is two games longer.
It’s the same path Jacobs took last year when he won the Brier after losing his first playoff game, but the skip admitted he doesn’t know if his team can do it again.
“Everyday is really tough. It gets really, really hard to muster up the energy to care,” he said. “I don’t know if we have the energy to do it again. Time will tell.”
Gushue soaking it in
Also tired, Brad Gushue said he’s been buoyed by the fan support throughout the tournament.
“We’re getting down to the nitty gritty here. There’s not going to be too many games. Once we lose we’re done. [I’m] trying to enjoy every moment,” he said. “That was one thing I kind of struggled with a little bit in that game, is that emotion and thinking, you know, what if we don’t win this one and that’s the last one?”
Gushue said he’ll need to work on quieting that voice in his head, and focusing on the gameplay against Jacobs on Saturday.
“I’m glad we get to play another one. Hopefully we get to play another one after that.”
Saturday’s matchup will be the last battle between the two Brads, as Gushue intends to retire at the end of the tournament — unless he wins the whole thing, in which case he’ll retire after the world championships later this month.
Jacobs and Gushue have faced off 68 times throughout their careers, according to Curling Zone, with Gushue winning 35 games and Jacobs winning 33.
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