Dunstone beats Gushue in Page 1-2 game at Brier, Jacobs tops Carruthers in 3-4 game

When veteran skip Brad Jacobs joined his new teammates last spring, one of their main goals was to get to the final Sunday at the Montana's Brier. 

Mission accomplished for the Alberta foursome. Now it's just a matter of getting to the top step of the podium. 

Jacobs secured a semifinal berth with a 6-5 win over Manitoba's Reid Carruthers in the Page playoff 3-4 game on Saturday at Prospera Place.

"We're in a pretty good spot," Jacobs said. "We're giving ourselves every opportunity that we can give ourselves to try to win this thing. I'm just really confident in the guys."

After giving up a steal of two in the ninth, Jacobs used hammer in the 10th to score a single for the win. 

Top-ranked Matt Dunstone of Manitoba and defending champion Brad Gushue were scheduled to play in the Page playoff 1-2 game on Saturday night. 

The winner advances to the final and the loser will play Jacobs in the semifinal on Sunday morning.

"We've worked really hard to get here," said Alberta vice Marc Kennedy. "I think we're comfortable with our preparation. We'll just go out there and play loose and let 'er fly." 

A near-sellout crowd of 5,309 spectators was treated to some excellent early shotmaking by the two veteran teams. 

Carruthers made a brilliant tap in the second end before exchanging perfect freezes with Jacobs, who made a tough pick to salvage a single. The Alberta foursome set up a force in the fourth end with Carruthers making a tricky draw to get on the board.

A takeout attempt by Alberta second Catlin Schneider overcurled in the fifth and ticked the stone. That allowed Jacobs to build for a pair and he made a draw for a 3-1 lead.

Jacobs made a double-takeout to set up a blank attempt by Carruthers but the Manitoba skip nosed the rock to score a single and lose hammer. Jacobs took advantage and made another double to make it 5-2.

Carruthers was forced to score a single in the eighth end but tied the game in the ninth after a Jacobs peel attempt jammed in the house. 

"That was probably his first peel miss in six months," said Kennedy. "But hey, it happens. Reid made a great shot on his last one. It's not a bad thing for us to have to play a game tied up coming home with (hammer) with a shot to win. All good."

Jacobs posted an 8-0 round-robin record. His only loss at the competition was a 7-4 decision to Gushue in Friday's early qualifier, which was followed by a 10-6 win over Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell in the evening qualifier.

Carruthers, who was 6-2 in round-robin play, qualified with a 6-4 win over Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen a day earlier. He said a few "half-shots" impacted his team's performance against Jacobs.

"It's obviously disappointing losing," Carruthers said. "But we lost to a great team and there's a lot to be proud of. We had a hell of a week."

Gushue is looking to win the national men's curling championship for a record fourth straight time and seventh overall.

Jacobs, whose lone Brier title came in 2013, joined Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert after the team parted ways with Brendan Bottcher. Jacobs entered play ranked second in Canada, just ahead of McEwen and Gushue.

"We're trying to build a team that can beat the best teams in the country and the world," Kennedy said. "We've had a really good season."

Bottcher has thrown fourth stones for most of his career but moved to second when he joined Gushue's side last fall. He replaced E.J. Harnden, who's now trying to help Dunstone win his first Brier title.

Also this weekend, longtime Winnipeg Sun curling writer Ted Wyman was named the posthumous winner of the Paul McLean Award. Wyman died last November at age 58. 

The award, presented by TSN, honours a media member who has made a lasting contribution to the sport. Wyman's son, Chris, accepted the award during the fifth-end break.