Jacobs off to quarters after highlight-reel shot

Thanks to some masterful shot-making, Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs will take a perfect 4-0 record into playoff action at the latest Grand Slam of Curling event.

After forcing an extra end by scoring one in the eighth end with the hammer, Jacobs stole a pair in the extra to pick up a 7-5 win over Niklas Edin of Sweden on Friday afternoon at the National. 

Trailing in the eighth end, Jacobs made a double-raise that hit one Edin rock and redirected off a second onto the button to pick up a single and push the game to an extra end.

Brad Jacobs makes an insane pinball shot to land on the button and score a single to force an extra end against Niklas Edin. 😯 pic.twitter.com/g2T1mRzaXY

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 14, 2018

“Well, actually it was all kind of lined up,” Jacobs told Sportsnet. “If we hit it in the right spot, our red was going to go flying into that little pile and obviously we got lucky there being that our rock stuck in the four-foot because it was coming flying in.”

In the extra end, Edin would come up light on a draw while facing a pair of Jacobs rocks, leading to the steal for Jacobs.

The Jacobs rink, which includes third E.J. Harnden, second Matt Wozniak, and lead Ryan Harnden, will play in quarterfinal action at the event on Saturday. 

Wozniak is filling in for Ryan Fry, who has taken a leave from the team for personal reasons.

“Just a great, all-around person,” Jacobs said of Wozniak. “We’re having a lot of fun with him. He’s very helpful out on the ice. He’s playing great.”

The National features 15 men’s and 15 women’s teams separated into three pools of five teams each on each side.

The top eight teams advance to the playoff round.

For Jacobs, his opponent will be determined on Friday night following tiebreaker action as six of the eight playoff spots on the men’s side have been claimed.

The quarterfinal matchups that have already been determined will see Kevin Koe (3-1) of Calgary face Jason Gunnlaugson (2-2) of Winnipeg and Edin will face Ross Paterson of Scotland.

Jacobs and Bruce Mouat of Scotland will have their opponents determined by Friday’s tiebreakers. 

The tiebreaker matchups will see Brad Gushue of St. John’s, Nfld. face Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland and Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont. will face Kirk Muyers of Saskatoon.