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Dunstone earns chance to top Pool A with ‘big win’ against rival Carruthers
The battle of Manitoba always brings a little more edge than your average curling game, and Wednesday’s showdown between Matt Dunstone and Reid Carruthers at the Brier was no different, and with massive implications on the line.
KELOWNA — The battle of Manitoba always brings a little more fire and edge than your average curling game, if you ask Winnipegger Matt Dunstone, and Wednesday’s showdown at the Brier was no different, and with massive implications on the line.
“Lose that one, we’re out,” Dunstone said, after an 8-6 win over Reid Carruthers and his Manitoba rink. “So, big win.”
A big win indeed for the top-ranked squad here, who now have a chance to finish first in Pool A, with one game remaining in round robin play against the three-time defending champions led by Brad Gushue, who are a perfect 7-0 so far.
The table was set at Prospera Place on Wednesday for a big one on many levels, and not just because of the implications. Win, and Carruthers’ Manitoba squad would advance to the playoffs. Lose, Dunstone was likely out. It also marked the first time Dunstone played against his former third, B.J. Neufeld, who his team cut back in December after two-plus seasons together, before bringing in E.J. Harnden, who’d been cut from Team Gushue. The move reunited the Brush Brothers, since Ryan Harnden plays lead for Dunstone. Neufeld, meanwhile, joined Carruthers in January, and they went on a near-undefeated run at provincials to punch their ticket here.
“I mean, a little strange obviously, just given the newness of, you know, the last few months,” Dunstone said of playing against his former third. “But three-quarters of that team is former teammates of mine. So you know, nothing new, just a little bit different.”
“There’s blood between the teams,” Carruthers added, of the long-standing rivalry.
It was a close one, too, until the eighth. Carruthers led 5-4 through seven ends, before giving up four.
“I missed a key shot. It sucks. It was a great battle, but yeah, that was the game. Giving four points to a team like that, you’re in big trouble,” Carruthers said. “I was a little bit wide on my throw and just got crucified.”
These Manitoba battles usually feature a lot of chirping, but Carruthers said it was a quieter on the ice on Wednesday.
“I’m proud of the performance we put on,” he said of his team, which is ranked 10th in the country, and includes Neufeld, Catlin Schneider and Connor Njegovan. In the fourth, Carruthers made one of the nicest shots of the game, a run-back for a deuce to give his team a 4-2 lead, and hearty fist bumps were exchanged. “We proved we can play with them,” Carruthers said. “Just feeling horrendous myself, because, you know, cost the team the game. And unfortunately for us now I don’t know, we might even be out. We’ve had a great week, so it’s really disappointing.”
In Pool A, the top three teams move on, and so far only Team Canada and Gushue have punched a ticket to the playoffs. John Epping’s Northern Ontario rink has two losses with a game in hand. Carruthers has two losses, while Dunstone has one loss and a game in hand.
Dunstone, Colton Lott and the Harnden brothers will try to be the first to beat Team Canada here on Thursday, with first place in Pool A on the line. And Dunstone likes his team’s chances.
“Of course,” he said. “We played Brad once in December with this lineup, and we won that game. We’re a confident group. We’ve been on a heck of a stretch the last two months, and now we’ve kind of put ourselves in a position where it’s go time now.”
