By Canadian Press

Rock On! Top-flight curling returns to St. John’s for first time since 2017 Brier

Nov 25, 2024 | 2:23 PM

Brett Gallant still gets a little choked up when he thinks back to the last time he played at the Mary Brown’s Centre in 2017.

He helped sweep Brad Gushue’s final stone into the eight-foot ring to give them their first Canadian men’s curling title, sending the sellout St. John’s crowd into a frenzy.

Gallant said the team had incredible support that week from fans eager to see a Newfoundland and Labrador team raise the Brier tankard for the first time in 41 years.

“We were able to ride that wave right to the finish line,” he said. “Right up until the last shot, it was crazy. It was pretty darn exciting. It brings up a lot of fun emotions just thinking about it.”

Now on opposing teams, their rinks are among the headliners this week as top-flight curling returns to the Newfoundland and Labrador capital with the Grand Slam of Curling’s Kioti National.

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Gushue, Mark Nichols and Geoff Walker remain on the St. John’s-based team that now includes Brendan Bottcher at second. The foursome is ranked second in the world behind Scotland’s Bruce Mouat.

Gallant left the squad after the 2022-23 season and now plays on a rink skipped by Brad Jacobs. That team is ranked fifth in the world.

The third Grand Slam of the season features 16-team men’s and women’s fields. Teams play three games within their own pools plus a crossover game based on seeding.

Competition begins Tuesday and runs through the finals on Sunday.

Gushue’s first Brier win came in his 14th career appearance at the event. He has since won five of the last seven national playdowns, including three with Gallant.

That 2017 final at the rink, then called Mile One Centre, was an all-timer as far as Brier finishes go.

St. John’s was hosting for the first time since 1972. The atmosphere was intense as Gushue had hammer in the 10th end against Kevin Koe with the game tied at six.

Before the final throw, Gallant pointed out that the path Gushue was considering was playing six feet slower – about an extra second of travel time – than normal.

Walker was nursing an injury and only swept for a few seconds before giving way to Nichols, who joined Gallant in some furious brushing once the stone passed the hog line.

Their efforts paid off as the stone stopped a few inches past Koe’s rock for the victory. The result kicked off a celebration in St. John’s that went well into the wee hours.

“It was a little bit of organized chaos,” Gallant said of the final throw in a recent interview. “But when that rock got there, I think the roof nearly lifted off the arena. It was pretty cool.”

Strong crowds are expected for the third Grand Slam of the season.

Gushue is in Pool B with Switzerland’s Marco Hoesli and Winnipeg skips Mike McEwen and Reid Carruthers. Jacobs is in Pool D with Italy’s Joel Retornaz, Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell and Scotland’s James Craik.

Mouat has won the first two Slams this season. Ottawa’s Rachel Homan is a favourite on the women’s side with one Slam title and a 33-2 overall record on the campaign.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2024.

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Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press