While Sault Ste. Marie is home for the Brad Jacobs rink, the Olympic gold medal winning foursome may start thinking of Banff as a home away from home.
Banff, you see, has been very good to Jacobs and his crew – third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden – in the past couple of years.
In 2014, the Jacobs rink took part in the inaugural Banff skins game at the Fenlands Recreation Centre, soaked up a pre-Olympic Games sendoff, then went on to claim gold in Sochi while representing Canada.
Last weekend (Jan. 16-18), Jacobs and his Pinty’s-sponsored crew were back in town for the $200,000 Pinty’s All-Star Curling Skins Game, which was broadcast on TSN, and won $65,500 in total after a win in the final over John Morris and his newly-formed rink of Pat Simmons, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen.
The Morris rink earned $4,000 in the final, plus $19,000 in skins with a semi win over Kevin Koe on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, in the women’s final, Ontario’s Rachel Homan (2014 Canadian champ and world silver medallist) defeated reigning Olympic champion Jennifer Jones of Manitoba, claiming $52,000 in total winnings.
Homan’s rink (third Emma Miskew, second Joanne Courtney and lead Lisa Weagle) picked up a $15,000 bonus for the win and $37,000 in skins, while the Jones rink (third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen) earned $29,500 ($28,500 in skins and a $1,000 draw to the button bonus).
A turning point came in the sixth end, when a Morris runback attempt wrecked on a rock out front, but rolled to the button for a carryover. Had he scored two, it would have meant $13,000 and a commanding lead.
As often happens in skins play, though, where carryovers of winnings can often lead to huge pots to be won late in the game, a $4,000 to $3,000 Morris lead evaporated in the seventh end when, after four carryovers, $37,000 and victory were on the line.
In the seventh, Jacobs played a light tap on one of his own rocks to the four-foot under the watchful eyes and brushes of the Harnden brothers and the keen eye of third Fry, for the victory.
The eighth end was also a carryover, forcing a draw to the button which Jacobs also won for $13,000 by covering the pin, as opposed to a Morris rock which ended up 9.9 centimetres from the pin.
Asked by TSN’s Bryan Mudryk about the close call in the sixth end, Jacobs said, “when it was coming down the ice, you could just tell that something bad was going to happen for us. But we were fortunate that it actually wasn’t two, so we’ll take what happened there and we got the hammer going back in seven and we were able to capitalize and win the game. So it was great.”
In Jacobs’ Saturday semi against Mike McEwen one of the trademarks of the rink was evident when, after a timeout to discuss strategy, he had to draw the four-foot for $6,500 and victory.
The shot was a bit light, but the Harnden brothers, also known as the Brush Brothers, brushed end to end, with Jacobs and Fry yelling at the top of their lungs to encourage them. The Harndens were the difference in making the shot, cementing their reputation as two of the most effective brushers in the game.
The shot was critical in making it to the final, said Jacobs.
“Yesterday, the guys pounding that rock into the four-foot? That wasn’t me, that was the front end and that’s what teamwork’s all about and I’m really proud of the way the guys played.
“And I must say, everyone in Banff, thanks for coming out and supporting the event. It was fantastic, and to all the volunteers that put this event together, just a first-class event. And obviously, thank you to all the sponsors, in particular Pinty’s (which also sponsors the Jacobs and Homan rinks), it was a great weekend for both Pinty’s teams.”
In the women’s final, Homan played to her strength and made several upweight shots that Jones and her squad simply couldn’t counter.
It all came down to the final end, though, when Homan played a light hit to remove a Jones rock from the four-foot and score two to capture the championship. There was little room for error and both Homan and third Miskew were in full voice yelling for the front end of Courtney and Weagle to brush to victory.
“It’s definitely the most money I’ve ever played for, for one curling shot,” said Homan after receiving her cheque from Pinty’s.
“Jones was amazing and it was back and forth all game as you can see from the scoreboard. We had to make shots end after end.”
The winning shot in the final, she said, “was a really tough shot, a great line call and an amazing sweep by our front end. I had no voice left at the end of that shot.”
“Jones gave us a run for our money, literally, so it was a great game and we’re pleased to take home a cheque from Pinty’s, who sponsors Team Homan. We all wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Pinty’s.”
