Saskatchewan skip Mike McEwen gestures as he watches his shot while playing Northwest Territories during the Brier, in Regina, on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

By The Canadian Press

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Mike McEwen takes control of Pool B with 10-2 win over Jamie Koe at Brier

Mar 6, 2024 | 1:45 PM

Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen took control of Pool B at the Canadian men’s curling championship with a 10-2 win over Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories in Wednesday’s early draw.

McEwen improved to 5-1 to lead the pool and stopped a three-game winning streak for Koe (4-2) at the Montana’s Brier.

The Saskatchewan foursome took a 6-2 lead with two points in the sixth, then put the game away with steals of two in the seventh and eight before Koe conceded.

Two-time defending champion Brad Gushue (5-2) kept pace with McEwen with an 11-3 rout of Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith (4-2).

Gushue got off to a strong start by opening with three points followed by a steal of two.

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In other Draw 13 results, Nunavut’s Shane Latimer (1-5) picked up his first win with a 7-5 victory over Nova Scotia’s Matthew Manuel (3-4) and Alberta’s Aaron Sluchinski (3-3) scored a deuce in an extra end in a 10-8 win over Quebec’s Julien Tremblay (2-4).

A Pool A draw was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon followed by another Pool B draw in the evening.

The top three teams in each pool of nine Thursday advance to Friday’s six-team playoff round, from which Saturday’s four Page playoff teams emerge.

Tiebreaker games have been eliminated from the format. Head-to-head results followed by cumulative scores in the draw-the-button that precedes each game is the tiebreaking formula.

Three losses are considered the playoff danger zone, although a team made it into the Canadian women’s championship playoffs with four losses.

Sunday’s winner will represent Canada at the world championship from March 30 to April 7 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland and return to the 2025 Montana’s Brier in Kelowna, B.C., as the defending champion.

The victor also gains an Olympic trials berth in 2025 pending a top-six result at the world championship.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 6, 2024.