Jacobs rink off to Canada Cup final

A split on Friday means Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs has earned a spot in Sunday’s final of the 2018 Canada Cup in Estevan, Sask.

Jacobs opened the day in the afternoon draw and needed a double takeout with his final shot to beat Toronto’s John Epping 7-6. 

“There was no other option,” Jacobs told Curling.ca. 

Marc Kennedy, who is playing third for the Jacobs rink after Ryan Fry took a leave from the team for personal reasons, added that he was “a little surprised we had a shot for two the way that end went.

“But we did, and he made it. Great shot, great shot. Things are working out for us this week, so we’ll take it. No one would have expected 5-0 and a bye to the final already.”

Kennedy called it “our first real test of adversity, emotionally and as a team, and I think we grinded it out and handled it really well.”

In the evening draw, the Jacobs rink, which also includes second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden, dropped a 7-6 decision to Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher.

Trailing 6-5 in the final end, Bottcher made a double with his last rock to pick up the win.

“It was three-quarters open and I just had to hit it,” Bottcher told Curling.ca. “For me it should be a pretty makeable shot, but to get to the playoffs at the Canada Cup there’s a little bit more on the line. So just took an extra second in the hack and made sure I nailed it.”

The Jacobs rink will now enjoy a day off on Saturday while their opponent for the final is determined.

Brad Gushue of St. John’s, Nfld. earned a spot in the semifinal on Saturday thanks to a 4-2 record and a draw to the button measurement giving him the edge over two other teams that finished at 4-2 in Bottcher and Kevin Koe of Calgary.

Bottcher and Koe will play in a tiebreaker game on Saturday to determine Gushue’s semifinal opponent.