New Brunswick off to a shocking 2-0 start at 2021 Tim Hortons Brier

James Grattan (Twitter)

After day two of the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, it is New Brunswick that has been the talk of the tournament so far. The team, which is skipped by James Grattan of Oromocto, New Brunswick, came away with not just one, but two upset wins from the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary.

On Saturday morning, the Grattan team beat Mike McEwen’s wildcard squad 6-3, and then in the evening, delivered another upset by beating British Columbia 7-5. Even though McEwen’s Wildcard squad and British Columbia’s team, which is skipped by Steve Laycock, have never won the Brier before, both are expected to be contenders at the Brier. McEwen is a Winter Universiade champion, and reached the final of the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, while Laycock is a World Junior curling champion, and finished third at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier, the last time the event took place in Calgary.

Even though McEwen lost to New Brunswick, he bounced back with an impressive 8-5 win over Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs, the 2014 Olympic gold medalist. There are currently three other teams at two wins and zero losses. They are Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson, Team Canada’s Brad Gushue, and the second wildcard team, skipped by Kevin Koe. Gushue will play Koe on Sunday night.

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