STONEWALL — How many sports can say it’s possible for a group of friends to throw together a team and beat an Olympic champion?
Curling might be the only one.
That’s what occurred Friday morning in Stonewall at the Manitoba men’s curling provincial championship with Charleswood’s Riley Smith knocking off No. 1 seed Team Reid Carruthers and their star skip Brad Jacobs.
Smith scored three in the 10th to win 8-7 and punch his ticket to the playoff round.
“We’re just weekend warriors who have a good time and crush a few beers in between games,” said Smith’s lead Justin Twiss. “That’s what it’s about for us.”
A victory like that is certainly worth a celebratory beverage or two. The bracket busters, the No. 8 seed who are currently ranked 61st in the country, are rounded out by Nick Curtis at third and second Jared Hancox. The only other time they’ve won three or more games in a row at an event this year was at the MCT Curling Cup in early November.
After Carruthers scored a pair in the ninth to go up 7-5, Smith needed to be nearly perfect in the 10th to even have a chance.
“You never think you’re going to get three, especially on a team like that. We just said at the break that we’re going to throw a bunch of junk up and hope the angles work out,” said Twiss, a 33-year-old from St. Claude.
“And if we have a shot for three at the end, we’re gonna throw it no matter how hard it is because if you take two there and go to extras, our chances of stealing without hammer aren’t very high so if you have a shot for the win, you’ve got to take it.”
BROOK JONES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Justin Twiss throws lead rocks for Team Riley Smith from the Charleswood Curling Club.
The 33-year-old Smith, a Winnipegger who sells tools for Mid-Canada Fasteners, used his first stone on a triple takeout which paved the way for him to cash in on his last rock.
“Everyone’s kind of in trades or doing their own thing, but we curl as much as we can. We play every weekend and every event that there is. To play this well when we don’t curl as our jobs, it’s pretty good,” said Smith.
“We’re still going to have to run into them one or two more times if we’re going to win this ourselves, but to beat them once gives us the confidence to know we can do it next time.”
It hasn’t been a great week for the heavy favourites so far as Jacobs and Carruthers barely squeaked out a 3-2 win on Thursday against a young team skipped by import Logan Ede of Kipling, Sask.
The loss to Smith forced Canada’s sixth-ranked men’s team to play Ede, again, Friday afternoon and they woke up with a 9-2 victory to take the scenic route to the final eight. Carruthers played Assiniboine’s Jordon McDonald in the 7:45 p.m. draw, while Smith took on Brett Walter out of the Assiniboine.
The other two playoff round tilts Friday night featured Ryan Wiebe (Assiniboine) challenging Greg Todoruk (Dauphin) and Braden Calvert (Fort Rouge) taking on Jeff Stewart (Gladstone).
Jacobs skipped Canada to Olympic gold 10 years ago. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., product also won the 2013 Brier representing Northern Ontario.
Friday morning wasn’t the time to reminisce.
“We ran into a good young team that made a lot of shots and we need to be better — plain and simple. We were pretty sloppy, especially in the first half of that game, and I’d say that’s not like us,” said Jacobs after the loss.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Brad Jacobs, who won Olympic gold in 2014, and his Team Carruthers teammates were on the losing side of Friday’s game against Team Smith.
“In order to win big championships like this, you need to bring your A-game. Right now, I’d probably say we’re playing OK, but we have a lot of better games in us.”
The last time Jacobs competed for a provincial crown was 2022 when he defeated Sandy MacEwan in the Northern Ontario final.
There were five teams in the event.
“In order to win big championships like this, you need to bring your A-game. Right now, I’d probably say we’re playing OK, but we have a lot of better games in us.”–Brad Jacobs
After taking a step back from full-time play in 2023, Jacobs joined Carruthers, second Derek Samagalski, and lead Connor Njegovan this past off-season.
Manitoba’s playdowns are a 32-team gauntlet.
“For years, everyone always assumed we were going to win out of Northern Ontario. Most people looking from the outside in who haven’t been in this position before have no idea how truly hard it is to win any provincial championship, so, we don’t care about (being the favourite), and we don’t pay attention to that,” said Jacobs, 38.
“Quite frankly, we’re just doing the best we can to make sure we give every team the respect they deserve because it’s very clear to me that everyone in Manitoba knows how to make their way around a curling sheet and make shots, so we just have to do a better job. That’s all.”
Friday was arguably the biggest win for Smith since he won Manitoba’s junior title in 2011 while playing third for Stonewall’s Sam Good.
It’s still a long road to capturing a second career Buffalo jacket, but regardless of what happens after their big upset, they’re going to enjoy the ride.
“Honestly, we’re all really good friends off the ice so we can be brutally honest with each other on the ice which really helps cause if you don’t throw the rock well, or if you’re not on your game, you got to know why,” said Smith.
“I think we probably have more fun than any other team out there and that really helps, too.”
Portage set to host 2025 men’s provincials
Curl Manitoba revealed Friday that Portage la Prairie’s Stride Place will be the host site of the 2025 men’s provincials.
Because of the one-year cancellation of the championship in 2021 due to the pandemic, the 2025 edition will be the 100th Manitoba men’s curling championship.
Portage last hosted in 2017 when Mike McEwen came out on top.
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Taylor Allen
Reporter
Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of…
