1999 Brier
SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Curling
1999 BRIER
ON THE ROCKS
INTERACTIVE
ALSO ON SLAM!
Turn the Page for Brier playoffs
Since the Page playoff system started back in 1995, history has proven to be the biggest enemy of teams that advance to the semifinal.
Shymko eliminated New Brunswick's Russ Howard in the 3-4 game earlier in the day. Hemmings lost to Jeff Stoughton in the 1-2 game, but gets another life in today's 2 p.m. tilt.
For the past three Briers, the winner of the 1-2 game has gone on to win the Brier.
Only in the Page system's introductory year of 1995 has the loser of the 1-2 game gone on to win the final. That year, Manitoba's Kerry Burtnyk finished first in the round robin, dropped the 1-2 game to Brad Heidt of Saskatchewan, then bounced back in the final.
SCOUTING OPPORTUNITY
Since then, Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Martin and Wayne Middaugh have used the bye to tomorrow's final as a day to rest up and scout the opposition.
Guy Hemmings has been there, done that. He got back to the 1998 final only to be thumped for the second time in three days by Middaugh.
"It looks like deja vu for us,'' said Hemmings, who's going to have battle back the hard way again. "We've got to do it one more time this year.''
Quebec third Pierre Charette also has that been there, done that feeling.
"Ever since I've been playing with this team, it seems we have to have our backs to the wall before we can play our best,'' said Charette. "We definitely didn't play our best. I know I have to play better tomorrow if we want to bounce back. I think we can bounce back and play Manitoba again.
"Every spiel we go to, it seems like we go down to 'C'. In the provincials, in the exact same format, we lost the 1-2 game. We're used to the hard way.''
And, in every case over the past four years, the teams that met in the 1-2 Page game have met again in the final.
Given all that, Saskatchewan's Gerald Shymko would be due to battle both history and Hemmings today.
Shymko is hoping his win over Howard will give his team some spark and he can catch Hemmings on a downer after a loss.
"You have some momentum,'' said Shymko. "It's just like the 'C' qualifier in a bonspiel. But, tomorrow's a different day and you're playing a different team, so we just hope to keep it going.''
Shymko managed to shift his momentum after losing his last round-robin game to Robert Campbell of P.E.I.
A TIRING WEEK
"We thought we were pumped, but maybe it was just a tiring week,'' said Shymko. "We really don't have an explanation for that. We just want to come out, play our game and have some fun.''
One factor that may work in Shymko's favour is the tendency for teams to play a less aggressive style once they're down to their last life, much like last night's dull-as-dishwater 1-2 game.
That more conservative style has been Shymko's bread and butter this week.
"We're not changing our style for anybody. We're playing our own style of game,'' said Shymko.
"They like attacking a bit more. We're going down with the ship. If we go down with our style of game, so be it.''
Shymko is 8-2 in his last 10 starts and that has Charette a bit concerned.
"He's hot, he's hot, very hot,'' said Charette. "We got along very well with that team this week, so I think it will be a fun game, a great game to watch.''
It's either have fun or be done as this Brier winds down to its last two games.