Dunstone upends Jacobs in Brier final rematch at AMJ Players’ Championship
Matt Dunstone defeated Brad Jacobs 6-1 to exact a bit of revenge and improve to a 2-1 record in the AMJ Players’ Championship.
TORONTO — It was a bit of revenge for Team Matt Dunstone when the Winnipeg club faced Calgary’s Team Brad Jacobs in the AMJ Players’ Championship.
Dunstone, who lost to Jacobs in last month’s Brier final, rode the steal train to score a 6-1 victory during Draw 10 action Thursday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
It’s also a family affair on the ice as Jacobs’s cousins and former teammates, E.J. and Ryan Harnden, play for Dunstone.
“It’s always fun to play against Brad,” E.J. Harnden said. “You always know that you’re going to be in for a really tough and a really entertaining game. He’s got us a few times this year, so it’s nice to get one back here.”
Team Dunstone (2-1) isn’t in the clear yet, with two games on tap for the final day of round-robin play Friday against Team Mike McEwen and Team John Epping.
“Lots to go, I mean, to be able to hopefully win both tomorrow, or at least split tomorrow, we’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us,” Harnden said. “To have a morning and a night game, we’re going to have to get some rest here tonight, wake up early, come out with lots of energy, use the time that we have in between to rest up and then come back with the same sort of energy and see what we can do tomorrow. Just control what we can control.”
Steals played a factor right out of the gate. With Dunstone sitting shot rock in the first, Jacobs attempted a super-spinner to try and chisel it away to avoid a potential jam. Jacobs missed the mark to concede the opening point on the scoreboard.
After Jacobs (2-2) was forced to his lone point in the second, Dunstone hit for a deuce in the third to reclaim the lead 3-1.
Jacobs, who shot 43 per cent, gave up single points in three consecutive ends and shook hands after the seventh.
It’s been a wild 12 months for Harnden, who finished last season winning the Players’ Championship with skip Brad Gushue. Harnden and Gushue split in October, but the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. native didn’t remain on the sidelines for long. He joined Team Dunstone as a super spare for a tour event in Red Deer, Alta. and helped them take down the title.
After Dunstone parted ways with third B.J. Neufeld in December, Harnden came on board full-time. Colton Lott shifted from second to third to accommodate his arrival.
“It would be really nice to get a win here and end the year,” Harnden said. “It’s always nice to win the last game of the year. Only one team gets to do that. I’ve done it a few times and it’s a nice feeling going into the off-season with that last win. We’ll give it everything we have.
“Quite honestly, I’m having a lot of fun. I’m really enjoying myself on and off the ice. For me, if we win, that’s amazing. It’s a nice way to cap off a good season, and if we don’t, like I said, I’m having lots of fun and I’m going to enjoy myself. This is going to be a great week, win or lose.”
It wasn’t the only national final redux on the ice during the draw. Team Ross Whyte and Team Bruce Mouat also faced off in a Scottish men’s championship game rematch. This one was a repeat as Whyte rolled past Mouat 6-2.
Although Whyte won his first Grand Slam title at the WFG Masters in January and successfully defended the Scottish title, it was Mouat who was selected to compete in the world championship. Mouat, winner of three Grand Slam titles this season and No. 1 in the rankings, captured his second gold medal in three years at the world championship.
Thursday’s victory helped Whyte draw level to a 2-2 record in the tournament with one game remaining against world silver medallists Team Yannick Schwaller.
“We were right in those two games that we lost, and we ended up on the wrong side of one stone,” Whyte said. “I didn’t feel we played too badly, just every game here is really tough. To come back here and bounce back against those boys, current world champions, yeah, it feels really good.”
He added: “Schwaller is another great team. We watched them play the whole worlds last week when we were keeping tabs on them and what they were doing was some very good stuff. We know we’re going to be in a really battle tomorrow, but we know we’re going to have to win to stay in this competition.”
Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz (2-2) scored a single in the extra end to win 7-6 over Switzerland’s Team Marco Hösli (1-2).
Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni climbed to a 3-0 record with a 5-3 win over Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa (1-3) in the lone women’s game of the draw.
Notes
The AMJ Players’ Championship features the top 12 men’s teams and top 12 women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday evening. Six teams qualify for the playoffs in both divisions, with the top two receiving byes to the semifinals. … If necessary, one tiebreaker draw is slated for Saturday morning. … The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Saturday. Both finals are on tap Sunday.
