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Gushue Wins Swiss Chalet National Final in Guelph
Sunday Jan 10 2010by Capital One Grand Slam News Releases
Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) captured his first career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event title today after defeating Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) 6-4 in the finals of The Swiss Chalet National at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. A tournament featuring 18 of the world’s top teams, The Swiss Chalet National concluded with a five-day total attendance of 28,431. “We’ve been playing good all year,” said Gushue. We’ve had four wins before this and to get the fifth at a Grand Slam is nice. This is the best field we’re going to face all year. We played good and we went head to head with a lot of the top teams – Ferbey, (Glenn Howard and Mike McEwen) – in the last three games. It’s nice to come through with three wins.”
The victory provided a bit of redemption for Gushue who gave up a steal of one point in the final end to fall 4-3 to Wayne Middaugh (Etobicoke, Ont.) in the final of last year’s event in Quebec City, Que. Tied at 4-4 heading into the final frame, Ferbey began building a collection of guards to protect his shot rock in an attempt to steal the game winning point.
Midway through the end, Gushue third Mark Nichols helped pull his team out of trouble by executing a triple peel to remove three guards followed by a brilliant double runback to eliminate Ferbey’s guard and shot rock stones.
“In the last end we had the steal set-up,” said Ferbey. “Mark made a couple good runbacks and got them out of trouble. Looking back, maybe we should have tried something a little different on my first one. That’s what it came down to. I firmly believe we probably had a better chance to win that game if Mark doesn’t make the double runback.”
On the game’s final shot, Gushue was left with a relatively routine hit around a tight guard to improve to 1-2 in career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event finals.
The first turning point in the game came in the fourth end. Trailing 2-1, Gushue executed a perfect runback to remove Ferbey’s shot rock and score three points for a 4-2 advantage. Ferbey rebounded in the sixth frame, making a hit and roll for two points. Tied at 4-4, Gushue blanked the seventh end, allowing him to retain the hammer heading into the final frame.
As tournament champions, Gushue’s team won $24,000 (CDN) and earned 40.000 Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) points. By finishing second, Ferbey’s squad took home $17,000 (CDN) along with 27.000 CTRS points. Both teams finished the tournament with a record of 6-2.
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Ferbey-Gushue Final in Guelph - Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) will aim to win his fourth career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event title while Brad Gushue (St. John’s, Nfld.) will look to capture his first tomorrow when they meet in the final of The Swiss Chalet National at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. Ferbey improved to 6-1 and advanced to the championship game after sliding past Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) 9-5. With the win, Ferbey’s squad qualified for its second final in the past three Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events. Last season, Ferbey won his third career Capital One Grand Slam of Curling title when he captured the 2009 Grey Power Players’ Championship.
“It’s nice to get back to a Grand Slam final,” said Ferbey. “You never know when you’re going to be there again because they are very, very difficult to get to.”
Gushue advanced to the finals of The Swiss Chalet National for the second consecutive season after squeezing past Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) 6-5. The squad, which lost to Wayne Middaugh in last year’s championship game, is 0-2 in their previous Capital One Grand Slam of Curling final appearances.
“The best teams in the world play here and you’re playing on the best ice,” said Gushue. “Anytime you can win, nobody can ever take it away because all the best teams were here. It’s something that we don’t have and it’d be a nice notch in the belt.”
The final of The Swiss Chalet National will take place on Sunday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET and will be shown live on CBC Television and CBCSports.ca. During the championship game, CBC will air the second on-site playoff of the Capital One Million Dollar Button contest.
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SATURDAY #2: Stoughton, McEwen Out at The Swiss Chalet National - Jeff Stoughton and Mike McEwen both lost quarterfinal games at the Swiss Chalet National in Guelph Saturday afternoon. Stoughton was a 6-4 loser to Glenn Howard while McEwen was a 6-3 loser to Brad Gushue. Gushue plays Howard in one semi-final while Kevion Koe (5-3 winner over David Murdoch) plays Randy Ferbey (7-5 over Wayne Middaugh) in the other Saturday evening semi-final.
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SATURDAY: Quarterfinals Set at The Swiss Chalet National, Burtnyk Loses Tiebreaker - Kerry Burtnyk lost 7-5 to David Murdoch (SCO) Saturday morning and has missed the playoff round at the Swiss Chalet National. Glenn Howard defeated Bob Ursel 9-5 and joins Murdoch as the final playoff teams. In the quarterfinals, (1) Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) plays (8) David Murdoch ( Lockerbie, Scotland); (4) Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) meets (5) Wayne Middaugh (Etobicoke, Ont.); (3) Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) plays (6) Brad Gushue (St. John's, Nfld.); and (2) Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.) plays (7) Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.).
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UPDATED: Quarterfinals Near Set at The Swiss Chalet National, Burtnyk in Tiebreakers - Manitobans Jeff Stoughton & Mike McEwen, Albertans Kevin Koe & Randy Ferbey, defending champion Wayne Middaugh (ON) and Brad Gushue (NF) all advanced to the quarterfinals at The Swiss Chalet National this evening following the conclusion of round robin play at the season’s second Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. Glenn Howard (ON), David Murdoch (SCO) , Kerry Burtnyk (MB) and Bob Ursel (BC) compete in tie-breakers tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. for the final two quarterfinal berths.
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Stoughton, Koe and McEwen Qualify for the Quarterfinals at The Swiss Chalet National - Manitobans Jeff Stoughton & Mikew McEwen and Kevin Koe (AB) became the first three teams to qualify for the quarterfinals at The Swiss Chalet National this evening following the conclusion of the eighth draw at the season’s second Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. Stoughton earned his fifth straight victory, and completed a perfect round robin, by doubling up Dale Matchett (Bradford, Ont.) 8-4 while Koe remained perfect at 4-0 following a 7-3 win over Pat Simmons (SK).
“We wanted to make sure that we’re going into the playoffs with a good attitude and maintain what we’ve done so far,” said Stoughton who squeezed past American 2010 Olympic qualifier John Shuster (Duluth, Minnesota) 6-5 earlier in the day. “Our guys have played well and we’ve been able to take advantage of mistakes.”
McEwen secured a berth in the playoff round with an 8-4 victory over Bob Ursel (BC). With the victory, McEwen concluded the preliminary round with a record of 4-1.
Kevin Martin (AB), Canada’s 2010 Olympic representative, will miss the playoffs for the first time in 24 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling events after falling 8-5 to McEwen earlier in the afternoon. The loss dropped Martin’s foursome to 1-3.
“I love the Slams and I hate to see that streak end,” said Martin. “But it’s happened over the years where you win a Slam and the next week you can’t make a shot. Or you win the Brier and the next week you’re terrible. And that’s the way it goes. It’s hard to come down off the high and then peak right away again. It just doesn’t happen.”
The last time Martin failed to reach the playoff round of a Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event was at the 2003 Players’ Championship.
Following the conclusion of round robin play, the top eight teams, regardless of their pool grouping, qualify for the tournament’s quarterfinals on Saturday, January 9.
Kerry Burtnyk lost his final round robin game (5-3 to Sean Geall, BC) to finish at 3-2. His playoff status depends on final round results. Jason Gunnlaugson finished at 1-4 with a final loss (6-2 to David Murdoch-SCO)
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Updated: Stoughton, McEwen Win; Burtnyk, Gunnlaugson Lose at the National - Jeff Stoughton and his Winnipeggers were the first team to post a 4-0 record at the Swiss Chalet National in Guelph, ON when they scored a 6-5 victory this morning over John Shuster and his US Olympic team. At 4-0 Stoughton is assured of a playoff spot. Kerry Burtnyk sits at 3-1 following a Friday afternoon 7-3 loss to Brad Gushue (now 2-2). Mike McEwen, is also at 3-1, after an 8-5 victory over Kevin Martin (now 1-3). Jason Gunnlaugson is 1-3 after a 6-1 loss to Randy Ferbey (now 3-1).
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(THURSDAY) Stoughton and Burtnyk Get a Leg Up at The Swiss Chalet National - Jeff Stoughton and Kerry Burtnyk sit atop of the leaderboard with perfect 3-0 records following the first five draws of The Swiss Chalet National, the second leg of the men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont. Stoughton earned his third consecutive victory this evening after edging Ted Appelman (Edmonton, Alta.) 4-3. Tied at 3-3 heading into the final frame, Stoughton made an open hit on the game’s final shot to score the winning point. Earlier in the afternoon, Stoughton slid past Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) 7-4. The loss dropped Howard to 1-1.
“We’re making shots,” said Stoughton. “It’s a simple game. Hit the broom and throw the right weight and you make the shot. The guys are doing really well. We’re picking up pretty good on the ice and things are going good.”
Team Burtnyk picked up its third consecutive win to open the tournament after outdistancing Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) 9-3. Against Ferbey, Burtnyk seized control of the game against early, executing an open draw for three points in the first end followed by an open draw for four points in the third fame.
“The guys were putting the rocks in real good spots tonight,” said Burtnyk. “That put us on the offence against Randy’s team which isn’t easy to do. We were able to control the situation and we got a couple of breaks from them and that worked out in our favour.”
In the morning draw, Burtnyk defeated Jason Gunnlaugson (Beausejour, Man.) 7-2. The Swiss Chalet National marks Team Burtnyk’s first tournament appearance in five weeks.
“Until Saturday I hadn’t thrown a curling rock since November,” added Burtnyk. “I took a real break and I really did need it. I was a little worried that we would be a bit rusty, but fortunately we seem to have gotten rid of it pretty quick. So hopefully it will stay away.”
John Shuster (Duluth, Minnesota), the United States’ 2010 Olympic representative, and Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) both remain undefeated at 2-0 following the first five draws.
Shuster picked up a pair of wins today, defeating Appelman 8-3 and garnering a 5-4 decision over Dale Matchett (Bradford, Ont.).
Koe began his day with an 8-6 victory over Bob Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.) before sliding past Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) 6-4.
Team Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.), Canada’s 2010 Olympic representative, is in danger of missing the playoffs after posting a 1-2 mark in their three round robin games today.
Martin dropped a 6-4 decision to Pat Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) in his first game before rebounding to defeat Brad Jacobs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) 5-2. The Edmonton-based foursome then fell 7-3 to Bob Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.).
“We’re not sharp right now,” said Martin following his victory over Jacobs. “We took two weeks off after the Trials and didn’t throw any rocks at all. There’s some rust. We had to take a break and we knew we weren’t going to be real sharp coming out. You just accept that and now it’s time to continue to build.”
In the evening’s final round robin draw, Team Ursel jumped on Martin early, executing a double takeout in the second end to score three points. After Martin closed the deficit to 4-3, Ursel capitalized on Martin miscue in the sixth end to score three points for an insurmountable four-point advantage.
Mike McEwen is at 2-1 after a late-draw win over Pat Simmons.
Featuring 18 of the world’s teams, including three 2010 Olympic qualifiers, Friday’s draw times for The Swiss Chalet National are set for 10:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET respectively.
Following the conclusion of round robin play, the top eight teams, regardless of their section grouping, qualify for the tournament’s quarterfinals on Saturday, January 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The tournament’s semi-finals are set for later that same evening at 7:00 p.m. ET while the tournament’s final will be contested on Sunday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Swiss Chalet National features a $100,000 (CDN) purse. The tournament’s champion will earn $22,500 (CDN) plus an additional $500 for each round robin victory.
Martin rebounds from opening round defeat at the men’s second 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event
Jeff Stoughton (Winnipeg, Man.) and Kerry Burtnyk (Winnipeg, Man.) sit atop of the leaderboard with perfect 3-0 records following the first four draws of The Swiss Chalet National, the second leg of the men’s 2009-10 Capital One Grand Slam of Curling series, taking place at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph, Ont.
Stoughton earned his third consecutive victory this evening after edging Ted Appelman (Edmonton, Alta.) 4-3. Tied at 3-3 heading into the final frame, Stoughton made an open hit on the game’s final shot to score the winning point.
Earlier in the afternoon, Stoughton slid past Glenn Howard (Coldwater, Ont.) 7-4. The loss dropped Howard to 1-1.
“We’re making shots,” said Stoughton. “It’s a simple game. Hit the broom and throw the right weight and you make the shot. The guys are doing really well. We’re picking up pretty good on the ice and things are going good.”
Team Burtnyk picked up its third consecutive win to open the tournament after outdistancing Randy Ferbey (Edmonton, Alta.) 9-3. Against Ferbey, Burtnyk seized control of the game against early, executing an open draw for three points in the first end followed by an open draw for four points in the third fame.
“The guys were putting the rocks in real good spots tonight,” said Burtnyk. “That put us on the offence against Randy’s team which isn’t easy to do. We were able to control the situation and we got a couple of breaks from them and that worked out in our favour.”
In the morning draw, Burtnyk defeated Jason Gunnlaugson (Beausejour, Man.) 7-2. The Swiss Chalet National marks Team Burtnyk’s first tournament appearance in five weeks.
“Until Saturday I hadn’t thrown a curling rock since November,” added Burtnyk. “I took a real break and I really did need it. I was a little worried that we would be a bit rusty, but fortunately we seem to have gotten rid of it pretty quick. So hopefully it will stay away.”
John Shuster (Duluth, Minnesota), the United States’ 2010 Olympic representative, and Kevin Koe (Edmonton, Alta.) both remain undefeated at 2-0 following the first four draws.
Shuster picked up a pair of wins today, defeating Appelman 8-3 and garnering a 5-4 decision over Dale Matchett (Bradford, Ont.).
Koe began his day with an 8-6 victory over Bob Ursel (Kelowna, B.C.) before sliding past Mike McEwen (Winnipeg, Man.) 6-4.
Kevin Martin (Edmonton, Alta.), Canada’s 2010 Olympic representative, rebounded from a 6-4 setback to Pat Simmons (Davidson, Sask.) this morning to defeat Brad Jacobs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) 5-2. With the victory, Martin evened his record at 1-1.
“We’re not sharp right now,” said Martin. “We took two weeks off after the Trials and didn’t throw any rocks at all. There’s some rust. We had to take a break and we knew we weren’t going to be real sharp coming out. You just accept that and now it’s time to continue to build.”
Leading Jacobs 3-2 in the seventh, Martin secured the victory with a takeout to score two points.
Throughout The Swiss Chalet National, members of the media can access live scoring, schedule and statistical information of each draw by visiting the official Capital One Grand Slam of Curling website at www.grandslamofcurling.com.
Featuring 18 of the world’s teams, including three 2010 Olympic qualifiers, Friday’s draw times for The Swiss Chalet National are set for 10:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET respectively.
Following the conclusion of round robin play, the top eight teams, regardless of their section grouping, qualify for the tournament’s quarterfinals on Saturday, January 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The tournament’s semi-finals are set for later that same evening at 7:00 p.m. ET while the tournament’s final will be contested on Sunday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Swiss Chalet National features a $100,000 (CDN) purse. The tournament’s champion will earn $22,500 (CDN) plus an additional $500 for each round robin victory.
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UPDATE: Burtnyk Wins second, Manitobans 3-1 on Opening Day at Swiss Chalet National - Kerry Burtnyk was a 7-2 winner this morning over Jason Gunnlaugson in Guelph in the Swiss Chalet National. Burtnyk is now 2-0 in the round-robin while Gunnlaugson is 0-2.
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Manitoba`s teams were 3-1 on the opening day of the newly re-named Swiss Chalet National, the Capital One Grand Slam event which got underway in Guelph, ON today. Jeff Stoughton overcame an opening end steal to outscore Wayne Widdaugh 5-1 over the next four ends in a 6-3 win over the defending champion for the event. Kerry Burtnykbeat world champion David Murdoch (SCO) 6-5 and Mike McEwen beat Brad Jacobs (ON) 8-3. Jason Gunnlaugson led Brad Gushe (NF) 3-0 early but lost 7-4.
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