1999 Brier
SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Curling
1999 BRIER
ON THE ROCKS
INTERACTIVE
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New Brunswick's on top
Now, five days later, they're the storybook - leading the Labatt Brier and attempting to end a frustrating 0-for-70 string by Picture Province representatives at this elite level of competition.
In the championship billed "The Last Big Shootout of the Century", Russ Howard's Moncton Beaver Curling Club team leads the pack with a 6-2 record.
Yesterday they shot down Ontario's Rich Moffatt 5-4 in a battle that went down to the wire, the last guys to leave the ice.
"Man, you don't want many like that. We were leaking oil," confessed the 43-year-old Howard moments after a match they won only when the Ontario skip tried and missed a "Hail Mary" shot.
Howard's team of Wayne Tallon, Grant Odishaw, Rick Perron and Jeff Lacey kept things clean and looked to have the outcome well in hand at the halfway mark.
But, Howard, a two-time world champion who moved to Moncton from Midland, Ont., last spring, said he knew differently.
"When we were up 4-1, I said to the guys we've got our hands full yet with Rich and we did. I've played him a lot and he's full of fight," offered Howard.
Actually, bad luck on New Brunswick's part played a key role in allowing Ontario back in the game.
Moffatt closed the score 4-2 with a single in the sixth, but Howard was in control all the way through the seventh and had a easy tap-back on Ontario's No. 1 for a two and a 6-2 lead.
But, just as Howard's rock was approaching the house, dead on target, it picked up something, went dead right, and Ontario stole a point. Score: N.B. 4, Ontario 3.
In the eighth, Ontario got two rocks buried near the button.
Howard played a raise takeout with his first shot and removed one of the stones.
After Moffat put up a guard, Howard attemped to draw around the other side and was inches light. All of a sudden it's 4-4.
In the 10th, all logic of keeping it clean went right out the window.
Right off the bat there were rocks everywhere, and by luck, not design, N.B. had one buried on the button dead between two Ontario stones.
Moffat played a wick takeout try off a side stone with his first throw and just missed the New Brunswick counter.
Howard put up another guard, and, with nothing to wick off now, Moffatt went for the desperation shot. He threw a hard one straight into the stack, but nothing got close to the N.B. counter.
"It was just totally opposite to what should be done, but that's what the situation dictated," said Howard of all the rocks in the 10th.
"He put a great one in and we had to go in, too. You have to battle. You can't win here sitting back. You make decisions and go for it."
When the action concluded on Tuesday, four teams were tied for first and five more were tied at second.
That changed yesterday.
While New Brunswick is first, Saskatchewan, which lost their first two games, is now second at 6-3.
Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec are grouped at 5-3.
Quebec's Guy Hemmings, the darling of the fans who chant "Guy, Guy, Guy," whenever he makes a good shot, has now lost three games in a row.
Still in playoff contention, but just hanging on, are British Columbia and Ontario at 5-4, and Alberta and Northern Ontario at 4-4.
The only team eliminated thus far are Prince Edward Island, at 3-6, Newfoundland, at 2-6, and the Yukon-Northwest Territories, still looking for their first win at 0-7.
Howard confessed the win over Ontario, the province where he shone winning two Briers and two world championships, was key.
"We looked at our schedule and had Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec in a row and we knew it would be tough.
"To win that first one is great. I think we have a little breathing room now. Now we know we're in the playoffs. Win another game or two and we can be first."
While New Brunswick is leading, Howard refuses to look beyond the next game.
"When we came here this morning we were one game out of ninth," he said. "It's going around good but we still have tough games. We gotta keep plugging along."
New Brunswick went on the ice against Manitoba late last night. Today, they play their final round-robin games against Quebec (11:30 a.m.AST) and Yukon-NWT (9:30 p.m. AST).
The playoffs are scheduled tomorrow, the semi-final Saturday and the championship on Sunday.