Team Jacobs takes advantage of short turnaround (12 photos)

Brad Jacobs and his team from the Community First Curling Centre had very little time to rebound.

Needing a win in its final round robin game at the National, the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the season, against Steve Laycock of Saskatoon, Sask., Team Jacobs dropped a 5-4 extra end decision, forcing the team into the tie-breaker game.

After Laycock tied the game in the eighth end, Jacobs looked to remove a Laycock rock from the house and stick around but he missed the Laycock rock completely, giving the Saskatoon rink the victory.

For Jacobs, a win in the tie-breaker over Peter De Cruz of Geneva, Switzerland by a 3-2 margin was what counted.

“I threw a terrible rock, missed a wide-open shot and as a result we lost,” said Jacobs. “We bounced back with a great win and we’re into the playoffs and that’s all that matters.

Jacobs called the short turnaround between the two games, roughly an hour, was a positive.

“That was the best thing for us,” Jacobs said. “I think it made us hungry to go out there and make a few more shots and get the win.

“We just didn’t get too low,” said Team Jacobs second E.J. Harnden. “We just told ourselves that there was nothing we could do about (the loss) now and we still had the opportunity to qualify for the playoffs.”

The Jacobs rink, which also includes third Ryan Fry and lead Ryan Harnden, will face John Morris (Vernon, BC) in one of four men’s quarter-final games on Saturday at noon.

Despite the loss, De Cruz was upbeat following the decision against Jacobs.

“It was really tough,” De Cruz said. “But if we played most of our games during the year like that (against Jacobs), we probably wouldn’t lose a lot. It was our best game of the slam. Brad just cut us down when he had to. He was money today. He meant business.”

After the completion of the round robin on the men’s side, seven teams wound up tied in the standings with 2-2 records. Sweden’s Niklas Edin earned one spot in the quarter-finals while the other six battled it out for the other three spots.

In addition to Jacobs getting through, Friday’s other tie-breaker game saw Epping beat McEwen 7-6. Trailing 6-4 heading into the eighth end, Epping would score three in the final end to pick up the victory,

The third tie-breaker on the men’s side will see a battle of Edmonton-based rinks as Brendan Bottcher faces Charley Thomas on Saturday morning at 8:30.

The quarter-final matchups that have been determined on the men’s side will see Edin face Kevin Koe (Calgary, Alta.) and Reid Carruthers (Winnipeg, Man.) will face Epping. Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) will face the winner of Saturday morning’s tie-breaker.

On the women’s side, four teams will battle for the final two quarter-final berths. Binia Feltscher of Switzerland will face Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg in one tie-breaker while Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg will meet Chelsea Carey of Calgary in the other.

In other action on Friday involving northern Ontario teams, Krista McCarville (Thunder Bay) picked up a 7-3 win over Chelsea Carey (Calgary, Alta.) in draw 10. McCarville picked up steals of one in the first and two in the second before taking a 5-1 lead with a pair in the fourth end.

In draw 11, Sudbury’s Tracy Fleury turned a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 win thanks to three in the eighth end to beat Rachel Homan (Ottawa, Ont.).

In the final round robin draw on Friday night, McCarville picked up a 7-3 win over Fleury. McCarville jumped out to a 5-1 lead and sealed the win with a single in six and a steal of one in seven.

*****

OTHER SCORES

Draw 10

Men

Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) picked up a much-needed 6-4 win over John Shuster (Duluth, Min.). Trailing 2-1, McEwen scored four in the sixth and then added a steal of one in the seventh en route to the win.

Deuces in the third and fifth ends were the difference as Kevin Koe (Calgary, Alta.) beat David Murdoch (Stirling, Scotland) 6-4.

Women

A triple in the seventh end helped Anna Hasselborg (Sundbyberg, Sweden) to a 6-2 win over Binia Feltscher (Flims, Switzerland).

Draw 11

Men

Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) finished the found robin with a 4-0 record thanks to a 6-4 win over Brendan Bottcher (Edmonton, Alta.). Gushue stole a pair in an extra end to win.

Women

After falling behind 6-3, Kerri Einarson (Winnipeg, Man.) scored six in the seventh end to beat Kelsey Rocque (Edmonton, Alta.).

Val Sweeting (Edmonton, Alta.) stole a single in an extra end to beat Jennifer Jones (Winnipeg, Man.). Jones was heavy on a draw to give Sweeting the victory.

Draw 12

Men

Niklas Edin (Karlstad, Sweden) beat John Shuster (Duluth, Min.) 7-2 in six ends after breaking open a tight game with three in the sixth. Edin added a pair each in the first and third ends.

It was steal city for John Morris (Vernon, BC) in an 8-2 win over Kevin Koe (Calgary, Alta.). With the teams tied at two, after two, Morris scored a single in three before steals of two each in four and five and a steal of one in six.

Reid Carruthers (Winnipeg, Man.) capped off a perfect round robin with a 7-3 win over Charley Thomas (Edmonton, Alta.). Carruthers stole one in the first and two more in the second to take the early lead and sealed the win with three more in seven to finish the round robin 4-0.

Peter De Cruz (Geneva, Switzerland) stole three an extra end to beat John Epping (Toronto, Ont.) 8-5. De Cruz scored a pair in the seventh end to tie the game at five. A miss by Epping blanked the eighth end and put it into the extra end.

Draw 13

Women

Chelsea Carey (Calgary, Alta.) picked up a 7-3 win over Allison Flaxey (Caledon, Ont.). With the game tied at one, Carey scored a pair in the third end before a steal of one began to break the game open. After Flaxey cut the lead to one with a pair in five, Carey scored a single in six and stole two more in the seventh to seal the win.

Russian Anna Sidorova beat Kelsey Rocque (Edmonton, Alta.) 5-2. Sidorova broke a 2-2 tie with a pair in the sixth end before stealing one more in the seventh.

*****

STANDINGS

Men Pool A

1. Brad Gushue: 4-0
2. Brad Jacobs: 2-2
3. Brendan Bottcher: 2-2
4. Tanner Horgan: 1-3
5. Steve Laycock: 1-3

Men Pool B

1. John Morris: 3-1
2. Kevin Koe: 3-1
3. Peter De Cruz: 2-2
4. John Epping: 2-2
5. David Murdoch: 0-4

Men Pool C

1. Reid Carruthers: 4-0
2. Niklas Edin: 2-2
3. Mike McEwen: 2-2
4. Charley Thomas: 2-2
5. John Shuster: 0-4

Women Pool A

1. Rachel Homan: 3-1
2. Krista McCarville: 3-1
3. Chelsea Carey: 2-2
4. Allison Flaxey: 1-3
5. Tracy Fleury: 1-3

Women Pool B

1. Val Sweeting: 4-0
2. Binia Feltscher: 2-2
3. Anna Hasselborg: 2-2
4. Jennifer Jones: 2-2
5. EunJung Kim: 0-4

Women Pool C

1. Kerri Einarson: 3-1
2. Silvana Tirinzoni: 3-1
3. Anna Sidorova: 3-1
4. Eve Muirhead: 1-3
5. Kelsey Rocque: 0-4