CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Although this year's Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men’s curling championship will be like no other, the Eddie MacKenzie-skipped rink is still looking forward to representing Prince Edward Island against the country’s best men's teams.
MacKenzie, third Tyler Smith, second Sean Ledgerwood and lead Ryan Lowery will open the round-robin schedule in Calgary on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s always exciting (to go to a Brier),” said MacKenzie, 48. “For us, it’s like going to the NHL or whatever. It’s enjoyable to get there. It will be a little different this year without the fans.”
Team MacKenzie, which lists the Montague Curling Club and the Crapaud Community Curling Club as its home clubs, swept the Blair Jay rink from the Silver Fox in Summerside in the best-of-five Tankard provincial men’s championship in O’Leary in January.
Like last week’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts Canadian women’s curling championship, the Brier will be held in a bubble in the Markin McPhail Centre at Canadian Olympic Park in Calgary, March 6 to 14.
A total of 18 teams will comprise two nine-team pools. Teams will play a round-robin schedule, with the top four teams in each pool advancing to the championship pool.
“It will be nice to make the second pool and try to get through the first one,” said MacKenzie. “Anything can happen if you go on a run.”
Prince Edward Islanders Brett Gallant and Adam Casey are also returning to the Brier.
Gallant, who is from Charlottetown, plays second with Team Canada’s Brad Gushue rink out of St. John’s, N.L.
Casey, a Seven Mile Bay native, is the third with Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson team.
P.E.I. Schedule
Following is Team P.E.I.’s round-robin schedule at the Tim Hortons Brier:
Saturday, March 6
4:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Nova Scotia.
Sunday, March 7
11:30 a.m. – P.E.I. vs. Wild-Card Two.
9:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Quebec.
Monday, March 8
9:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Newfoundland and Labrador.
Tuesday, March 9
4:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Nunavut.
Wednesday, March 10
11:30 a.m. – P.E.I. vs. Canada.
9:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Saskatchewan.
Thursday, March 11
4:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Ontario.
No strangers
MacKenzie and Ledgerwood are no strangers to the Brier. It is the fifth year they have been teammates with Team P.E.I. at Canada's premier men's curling event.
Ledgerwood said it never gets old playing in a Brier, although he acknowledged this year will be different with no fans in the stands due to COVID-19.
“It’s the biggest show on earth for curling,” said Ledgerwood, 51. “It’s going to be very tough (competition).
“There are two extra wild-card teams this year, which are both good teams. We have practised hard over the last month. We will have to be fundamentally good, be prepared and do the best we can.”
Lowery and Smith will be making their debuts at the Brier, but both are no strangers when it comes to competing in Canadian curling championships. Smith has played in six national junior events, including five as a skip. Lowery was Smith’s lead for three of those championships.
“It definitely will not be a full experience with it being in a bubble, but I’m sure there will be some good stories along the way,” said a smiling Smith, 22.
One area Smith said he has had to adjust to going from a skip in junior to third in men’s play has been the sweeping side of the game.
“The biggest transition would be getting to throw after you sweep because your heart rate is going and everything,” said Smith, who lives in Hunter River and is a delivery truck driver for Pepsi. “I am used to standing at the other end pretty relaxed (as a skip), but now I’m trying to catch my breath.
“You can’t take too much time off the clock because it’s a running clock. I need some practice with that, but we will get there.”
Lowery lives in Montague and is studying energy systems engineering technology at Holland College. That played a factor in Lowery's decision to commit to attending the Brier as Team P.E.I. members have to self-isolate for 14 days once they return home.
“It was a hard year to say ‘yes,’ but I’m still a student, and we are mostly online,” said Lowery, 20. “It was a good chance for me to get there.”
Ledgerwood, who works with the provincial government’s Department of Environment, said it is always fun to watch players in their first Brier experience. He predicted a memorable experience for Lowery and Smith.
Pools
Here are the pools for the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier:
Pool A
Northern Ontario (Brad Jacobs).
Alberta (Brendan Bottcher).
Wild-Card One (Mike McEwen).
Manitoba (Jason Gunnlaugson).
Wild-Card Three (Glenn Howard).
British Columbia (Steve Laycock).
New Brunswick (James Grattan).
Northwest Territories (Greg Skauge).
Yukon (Dustin Mikkelsen).
Pool B
Ontario (John Epping).
Canada (Brad Gushue).
Wild-Card Two (Kevin Koe).
Saskatchewan (Matt Dunstone).
Nova Scotia (Scott McDonald).
Quebec (Michael Fournier).
Newfoundland and Labrador (Greg Smith).
Prince Edward Island (Eddie MacKenzie).
Nunavut (Peter Mackey).
No easy opponent
MacKenzie acknowledged there are no easy opponents at the Brier. He said Team P.E.I. has been working hard to prepare and has been fortunate to train on Larry Richards’s ice at the Montague Curling Club. He described Montague’s ice as essentially Brier condition.
“The speed and curl (at the Brier) are pretty consistent with what Larry can do in Montague,” said MacKenzie, a real-estate developer who lives in Charlottetown. “There are very few misses, and you really have to be on the ball. You can’t afford at any position to miss very much.
“You definitely have to make your last ones as a skip.”
Aaron Bartling of Alberta will join Team P.E.I. as its alternate player. Bartling, who has won a Canadian firefighters curling championship, will also be making his Brier debut.
Ledgerwood said the rink opted to add someone from the host province because the P.E.I. team members have to self-isolate upon their return home.
“We thought there are not that many people on the Island who will want to do that to be a fifth player,” said Ledgerwood.
Jason Simmonds is a sports reporter with The Guardian. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @JpsportsJason .
