There is a shocking leader at the 2024 Montanas Brier at the Brandt Center in Regina, Saskatchewan. Jamie Koe from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories leads Pool B with four wins and one loss.
On Monday, Koe won both games, defeating Team Canada’s Brad Gushue, the U.S. gold medalist 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, 7-5 and then Nunavut’s Shane Latimer 9-2. There were two main reasons why Koe defeated Gushue. In the fifth round, Gushue easily won with his last stone, forcing Koe to steal two points. In the eighth round, Koe took a 6-3 lead when Gushue failed with a double takeout.
We also saw great things from Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith on Monday. Canada’s smallest province is 3-1 after a 10-3 victory over Nunavut and a shocking 8-5 victory over Alberta. So far this week, Smith has posted an 86% curling performance, which ranks him third among all skips. Smith is actually tied with Koe. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan lost its first game of the week on Monday when it was beaten 7-4 by Nova Scotia. Gushue, meanwhile, regrouped in the evening’s draw and defeated Alberta’s Kevin Koe 8-3.
Four teams are over .500 in Pool A. Brad Jacobs’ Team Manitoba is 3-0, Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher and Northern Ontario’s Trevor Bonot are 3-1 and Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone is 2-1.
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