Kevin Koe of Calgary, Alberta is in the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier final from LethbrIdge, Alberta is in Sunday’s championship final. On Saturday in the 1-2 game, Alberta defeated Brendan Bottcher’s Team Canada squad 9-7.
Koe was in control throughout the entire contest. He got two points in the first end and three points in the third end to take a 5-2 lead. Koe also had the only multi-point end in the second half of the game as he scored two points in the seventh end.
The big difference in the game was at the third position. Team Alberta third B.J. Neufeld was a solid 79%, while Team Canada third Pat Janssen struggled mightily at 59%. Janssen’s inexperience in big games showed as he was unable to curl at the same level as his counterpart. It should be noted that Janssen was the fifth on the Bottcher team that won the 2021 Brier in Calgary. Following the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, Bottcher dropped third Darren Moulding, who ended up joining Team New Brunswick at the 2022 Tim Horton’s Brier.
In the 3/4 game, Team Wildcard’s Brad Gushue of St. John’s Newfoundland beat Saskatchewan’s Colton Flasch 9-7. Gushue will play Bottcher in the semifinal on Sunday, with the winner playing Koe.
In other curling news, Dawn McEwen, the long-time lead for Jennifer Jones, has retired at age 41. McEwen won the gold medal for Canada with Jones at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. McEwen also won five Scotties Tournament of Hearts and two Women’s World Curling Championships with Jones.
