No Flasch in the pan: Saskatchewan wins three straight elimination games to move on in Brier playoffs

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Colton Flasch and his Saskatchewan teammates already won three elimination games at the Tim Hortons Brier and that had them feeling very confident heading into the final four on Friday.

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The Flasch foursome, from Saskatoon, had to beat provincial rival Matt Dunstone (Wild Card 2) Thursday night just to force a tiebreaker at the end of the round-robin.

Flasch then beat Dunstone again (by a 9-5 score) on Friday morning in the tiebreaker to book a spot in the playoffs at the Canadian men’s curling championship in Lethbridge, Alta.

All that earned Team Saskatchewan was another elimination game, this time against perennial contender Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario.

No problem.

Flasch won that game 10-3 to knock Jacobs out and advance to the final four, Canadian along with some of the biggest names in curling — two-time Olympian Brad Gushue (Wild Card 1), defending champion Brendan Bottcher (Team Canada) and four-time champion Kevin Koe of Alberta.

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The best news is, those four teams now have a second life — should they lose Friday night they’d still have a chance to play in the Page 3-4 game on Saturday.

“To be honest, we could easily be undefeated at this point so we just want to keep the train rolling,” said Flasch, who was matched up against Koe on Friday night.

“Yes we have another life if we lose but the key is to keep this roll going. That’s the most important thing right now. We’re definitely playing well enough to do that.”

Flasch, 31, is appearing in the Brier for the sixth time. He won a championship as the second for Kevin Koe of Calgary in 2019 and a silver medal at the world championship.

However, he was let go from the Koe team in 2020 and decided to go back to representing Saskatchewan. This is Flasch’s first time skipping in the Brier and he’s been stellar.

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“There’s that no-pressure factor in being the underdog, that’s kind of nice,” Bottcher said of the Flasch foursome, which includes third Catlin Schneider, second Kevin Marsh and lead Dan Marsh.

“It lets you go out there, have some laughs and play a little loose. I see that in those guys right now and they’re playing absolutely great.”

Flasch and his teammates pulled off an incredible feat during the round-robin. They won the last stone draw competition in every one of their games and did it again in both the tiebreaker and their playoff game against Jacobs on Friday.

That meant they started all 10 of their games with the hammer.

“Our draws to the button have been great and we’ve had hammer every game,” Flasch said. “Unfortunately that’s coming to an end now, because of the playoff rules, but it shouldn’t be an issue.

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“It’s a huge deal. Having hammer gives you a slight edge to start.”

COVID-19 SIDELINES NICHOLS

If Gushue is going to win his fourth Brier championship, he’s going to have to do it without his long-time vice-skip Mark Nichols.

Nichols tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday and has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.

A team statement said Nichols is experiencing mild symptoms and added that it will continue on with three players — Gushue, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker — for the rest of the Brier.

The trio was on the ice against Bottcher Friday night. Should anyone else on the Gushue team (Wild Card 1) test positive, they may have to forfeit, as they do not have an alternate player.

Nichols, 42, is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won gold in 2005 and bronze in 2022, along with Gushue.

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BOTTCHER IN ‘OFFICE’

Bottcher’s team hasn’t missed a beat despite coming into the Brier with a new third.

Pat Janssen replaced Darren Molding and has been outstanding, as have his teammates.

As a result, Bottcher is back in his ‘office’ — also known as the playoffs at the Brier.

Bottcher’s team, which also includes second Brad Thiessen and lead Karrick Martin, has played in the last four Brier finals and finally won the championship last year.

“You’re always trying to play your absolute best for the Brier,” Bottcher said.

“But I think the last couple years have taught us just that extra little bit of patience, that extra little bit of comfort you have from being around at the end of the week — that ‘been there, done that’ factor. It feels like we have that now. We’re coming out here and we feel at home.”

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Bottcher went 7-1 in the round-robin and beat Jason Gunnlaugson (Wild Card 3) 7-3 in an elimination playoff game on Friday.

“We’ve just been having a lot of fun this week,” said Bottcher, who was set to play Gushue in the next round of the playoffs Friday night.

“We’ve been playing loose, we’ve been having a lot of success and, for all of us, it’s just been outstanding. I can’t ask more of my guys. They’ve done a great job, we’re playing well and it feels like we’re ramping up for the end of the week. By my metrics, I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot.

“It was a little tough to think we were 7-1 and still in a do-or-die game, so it was good to get through that one.”

There was a bit of a circus atmosphere surrounding the Bottcher team at the beginning of the Brier. After getting cut in December, Molding joined the James Grattan team out of New Brunswick and faced his former teammates on Saturday night at Enmax Centre.

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Team Canada won that game and has looked very sharp ever since.

“I’m proud of the guys for leaving all the baggage at the door and just coming out and playing great,” Bottcher said.

GUNNER’S WILD RIDE

Gunnlaugson’s team from Morris, Man., was left for dead after losing its final round-robin game to Gushue on Thursday morning and finishing the round-robin with a 5-3 record.

Gunnlaugson said his team needed a miracle to get into the playoffs and somehow they got that divine intervention.

Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen lost a shocker to Quebec’s Michael Fournier on Thursday night to drop to 5-3 and that set up an all-Manitoba tiebreaker on Friday morning.

It was never close, as Gunnlaugson used his second life to win 9-3 in eight ends.

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However, he and teammates Adam Casey, Matt Wozniak and Connor Njegovan only got about an hour break before going back on the ice against defending champion Bottcher and things did not go well. Gunnlaugson was eliminated with the 7-3 loss.

“We were playing so well and to come out flat against Bottcher, it just sucks,” Gunnlaugson said.

“That was definitely positive to win the tiebreaker, and to make the playoffs was one of our goals, so it was a pretty good week. But there’s a bit of a sour taste in the mouth.”

Gunnlaugson said it was pretty nerve-wracking and wild the way things shook out for his team.

“The last 24 hours had a little bit of everything,” he said.

“It’s always tough when you’re watching and hoping for somebody. You like to be playing for it, but it was a good break for us. We did know Quebec was playing very well so we had a little bit of hope, but it was still a surprise that we got to keep playing.”

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