Curling fans were in for a treat on Sunday afternoon, as a battle between two 2-0 squads came down to the last end.
Day three of the Montana's Brier, hosted at 麻豆精选's Prospera Place, saw the first full day of action, with three draws throughout the day.
The morning session (draw four) was highlighted by 25-year-old Sam Mooibroek and his Ontario rink, who pounded Northwest Territories' Aaron Bartling's rink, 12-2. Mooibroek is making his debut at the Brier and has outscored his opponents in his opening two games by a 23-6 score.
The highlight of the day was draw five, with two epic matches.
Headlining was Team Canada's Brad Gushue (2-0) against Team Manitoba's John Epping (2-0). After a cagy two ends yielding no points, Gushue took one with the hammer in the third.
Then, teams would trade ends of two points each in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, leaving Gushue with a slender one-point lead heading into the eighth.
After a blank, Epping knotted the game up at five. However, Team Canada played a great end to sit one and Epping was unable to capitalize, giving the game to Gushue, 6-5.
Alberta's Kevin Koe, already 0-2 in the young tournament, has his work cut out for him against Manitoba's Reid Carruthers (2-0) in another top-tier matchup.
A nervy match saw just one end with more than one point scored (second). After Alberta tied it up in the tenth, Carruthers was able to nab one in the eleventh to remain undefeated.
Koe, a two-time World champion and four-time Brier champ, is now 0-3 and already at an uphill climb for a playoff spot.
The nightcap saw a shellacking from Alberta's Brad Jacobs rink, who walloped Bartling's NWT rink 20-2.
Issues with the ice surface have been a discussion point early in the tournament. Frosty conditions on the surface led to an extremely slick ice, which New Brunswick's James Gratten rink called "dangerous" during the afternoon session.
A dehumidification system is being installed at the venue, which will hope to alleviate concerns.
Below are the full results from Sunday:
Draw four: Ontario (Sam Mooibroek) 12- Northwest Territories (Aaron Bartling) 2; Quebec (Felix Asselin) 7- Yukon (Thomas Scoffin) 5; Saskatchewan (Mike McEwen) 8- Nova Scotia (Owen Purcell) 6; Saskatchewan (Rylan Kleiter) 7- P.E.I (Tyler Smith) 4.
Draw five: Canada (Brad Gushue) 6- Northern Ontario (Brad Epping) 5; Manitoba (Matt Dunstone) 7- B.C. (Cameron de Jong) 4; Manitoba (Reid Carruthers) 5- Alberta (Kevin Koe) 4; New Brunswick (James Grattan) 8- Nunavut (Shane Latimer) 3.
Draw six: Yukon (Thomas Scoffin) 7 - Nova Scotia 5; Saskatchewan (McEwan) 8- Ontario (Mooibroek) 4; Quebec 7 - P.E.I 5; Alberta (Brad Jacobs) 20 - Northwest Territories 2.
