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There are a lot of highly decorated curlers on the ice this week for the Tim Hortons Brier, but a few others have been three rows up in the seats at TD Place arena.
Swedish skip Niklas Edin, whose medal collection includes two world championship gold (plus two bronze), a world junior gold (plus three silver) and Olympic bronze from Sochi in 2014, and teammates Oskar Eriksson and Christopher Sundgren spent Sunday morning directly behind a match between the Northern Ontario and Quebec foursomes led by Brad Jacobs and Jean-Michel Ménard.
The Swedish curlers, who spent 2 1/2 months in Ottawa in the fall, had intended to play in a bonspiel in Alberta, but it was cancelled, so they decided another visit to Canada’s capital was in order to break up their trip to Victoria for a Grand Slam of Curling event next week.
Plus it’s the Brier. Edin and his teammates also watched the final weekend of last year’s tournament in Calgary.
“This is way bigger. We would never get this many viewers, it wouldn’t be crowded like this in Europe,” said Edin, who arrived in Ottawa on Friday. “It’s pretty cool to come here and watch the bigger games. It’s more like playing in the Olympics or a big world championship or something like that. It’s the same kind of atmosphere.
“You definitely get motivated watching this. It’s part of our plan, it’s part of why we’re here: to get motivated and see the best teams compete.”
WOZ UP?
Another day at the Brier, another moment Matt Wozniak would like to forget … some day.
The Manitoba second, who was called for a hog-line violation in Saturday’s loss to Newfoundland and Labrador, fell and made contact with a rock while brushing another stone thrown by teammate B.J. Neufeld during Sunday morning’s game against Ontario.
Fortunately for Wozniak, he was not hurt and everyone agreed the rock in question had been headed out of play anyway. “I’m trying to make my own Brier top-10 worst moments, all of me,” he said.
The spill just happened, according to Wozniak, when he tried to stop quickly after sliding across the surface while brushing.
Unlike the hog-line violation, which might or might not have been a factor in the 5-4 defeat against Newfoundland and Labrador, Sunday’s mis-step probably stung a little less. Mike McEwen’s Manitoba foursome prevailed 6-2 against Ontario.
“The teams are so good. The level of play so far … has been as good if not better than we have experienced all year,” Wozniak said. “But it’s good. That’s what we want. We want to play these teams and have to play our best to beat them.”
THAT’S A LOT OF TIMBITS
The winning team in the Tim Hortons Brier receives $225,000, including $144,000 in Sport Canada funding over a two-year period. The remaining $81,000 comprises prize and endorsement money.
As well, the 2016 champion will collect the largest share of available points for the Canadian Team Ranking System used to determine qualifiers for the Olympic team trials in December 2017. If the Brier winners also earn medals in the world championship in Switzerland in April, they’ll qualify directly for the trials, set for the Canadian Tire Centre in December 2017.
Finally, the team that’s on top of the scoreboard after the final next Sunday will have berths in the 2017 Brier at St. John’s, the Home Hardware Canada Cup in Brandon, Man., and the World Financial Group Continental Cup in Las Vegas.
Kevin Koe’s Alberta foursome has already earned a spot in the Roar of the Rings Olympic team trials by virtue of its victory in the Canada Cup in December.
Monday’s game of the day
Northwest Territories (Jamie Koe) vs. Alberta (Kevin Koe), 2:30 p.m.
The brothers Koe shared a silver medal in the 1994 Canadian junior championship, but it has been all Kevin in their Tim Hortons Brier matchups as skips — 5-0 overall, including a 10-6 victory in the 3-4 Page playoff game in Saskatoon in 2012.
gholder@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/HolderGord
查看原文...
Swedish skip Niklas Edin, whose medal collection includes two world championship gold (plus two bronze), a world junior gold (plus three silver) and Olympic bronze from Sochi in 2014, and teammates Oskar Eriksson and Christopher Sundgren spent Sunday morning directly behind a match between the Northern Ontario and Quebec foursomes led by Brad Jacobs and Jean-Michel Ménard.
The Swedish curlers, who spent 2 1/2 months in Ottawa in the fall, had intended to play in a bonspiel in Alberta, but it was cancelled, so they decided another visit to Canada’s capital was in order to break up their trip to Victoria for a Grand Slam of Curling event next week.
Plus it’s the Brier. Edin and his teammates also watched the final weekend of last year’s tournament in Calgary.
“This is way bigger. We would never get this many viewers, it wouldn’t be crowded like this in Europe,” said Edin, who arrived in Ottawa on Friday. “It’s pretty cool to come here and watch the bigger games. It’s more like playing in the Olympics or a big world championship or something like that. It’s the same kind of atmosphere.
“You definitely get motivated watching this. It’s part of our plan, it’s part of why we’re here: to get motivated and see the best teams compete.”
WOZ UP?
Another day at the Brier, another moment Matt Wozniak would like to forget … some day.
The Manitoba second, who was called for a hog-line violation in Saturday’s loss to Newfoundland and Labrador, fell and made contact with a rock while brushing another stone thrown by teammate B.J. Neufeld during Sunday morning’s game against Ontario.
Fortunately for Wozniak, he was not hurt and everyone agreed the rock in question had been headed out of play anyway. “I’m trying to make my own Brier top-10 worst moments, all of me,” he said.
The spill just happened, according to Wozniak, when he tried to stop quickly after sliding across the surface while brushing.
Unlike the hog-line violation, which might or might not have been a factor in the 5-4 defeat against Newfoundland and Labrador, Sunday’s mis-step probably stung a little less. Mike McEwen’s Manitoba foursome prevailed 6-2 against Ontario.
“The teams are so good. The level of play so far … has been as good if not better than we have experienced all year,” Wozniak said. “But it’s good. That’s what we want. We want to play these teams and have to play our best to beat them.”
THAT’S A LOT OF TIMBITS
The winning team in the Tim Hortons Brier receives $225,000, including $144,000 in Sport Canada funding over a two-year period. The remaining $81,000 comprises prize and endorsement money.
As well, the 2016 champion will collect the largest share of available points for the Canadian Team Ranking System used to determine qualifiers for the Olympic team trials in December 2017. If the Brier winners also earn medals in the world championship in Switzerland in April, they’ll qualify directly for the trials, set for the Canadian Tire Centre in December 2017.
Finally, the team that’s on top of the scoreboard after the final next Sunday will have berths in the 2017 Brier at St. John’s, the Home Hardware Canada Cup in Brandon, Man., and the World Financial Group Continental Cup in Las Vegas.
Kevin Koe’s Alberta foursome has already earned a spot in the Roar of the Rings Olympic team trials by virtue of its victory in the Canada Cup in December.
Monday’s game of the day
Northwest Territories (Jamie Koe) vs. Alberta (Kevin Koe), 2:30 p.m.
The brothers Koe shared a silver medal in the 1994 Canadian junior championship, but it has been all Kevin in their Tim Hortons Brier matchups as skips — 5-0 overall, including a 10-6 victory in the 3-4 Page playoff game in Saskatoon in 2012.
gholder@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/HolderGord
查看原文...
