Jacobs off to final at Olympic Curling Trials (update)

Team Jacobs is off to the final at the 2021 Olympic Curling Trials in Saskatoon.

The Sault Ste. Marie-based curling team, which includes skip Brad Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second E.J. Harnden, and lead Ryan Harnden, scored an 8-3 win over Calgary’s Kevin Koe in six ends on Saturday afternoon in semifinal action.

Jacobs will face Brad Gushue of St. John’s, Nfld. in the tournament final on Sunday night with a berth in the Olympics in Beijing in February on the line.

Jacobs earned the semifinal spot thanks to a 7-1 record in the round robin.

Jacobs and Gushue met on Tuesday night in the round robin with Gushue picking up a 7-6 win an extra end.

In Saturday’s semifinal, Jacobs blanked the opening two ends before getting on the scoreboard in a big way in the third.

With a Koe rock as shot stone, Jacobs came off his own rock and removed two Koe rocks from the house to score four.

After Koe got on the board with a single in the fourth end, Jacobs took an 8-1 lead as he come off one of his own rocks to remove the lone Koe rock in the house to score four more and take a commanding lead.

“That was a huge surprise,” Jacobs said in an interview with Curling Canada. “We put a lot of rocks in great spots. Ryan, E.J., and Marc were phenomenal in front of me this game like they have been all week. We took advantage of a couple of opportunities that were put in front of us.”

Kennedy credited Jacobs play as well.

“Brad’s been fantastic,” Kennedy said. “When you feel like your skip is going to make everything, it allows everybody to be a little more relaxed.”

Koe scored a pair in the sixth end to cap off the scoring.

“It probably hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Koe told reporters after the game. “I don’t think the score is indicative of how we were playing. Against any team, especially one like them that’s playing so well, you can’t miss a few shots in one end. Especially when you don’t have hammer. That’s what cost us.”

Start time for Sunday’s final is set for 8 p.m.