Team Gushue is into the playoffs at the Grand Slam of Curling despite a second, final-end loss Friday night at another sold-out Mary Brown’s Centre.
Gushue dropped an 8-6 decision to Switzerland’s Team Marco Hoesli in the round-robin finale.
That followed a 4-3 loss to Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen the night before.
Despite that, the hometown Gushue rink (2-2) qualified for the playoffs based on draw-to-the-button shootout totals, avoiding an early, disastrous exit from the event.
Good news and bad news … we couldn’t get the win tonight but despite the loss, we still qualified for the playoffs at the Grand Slam of Curling Kioti National! We play Team Jacobs tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 pm ET / 4:00 pm NL in the quarterfinals! #GSOC #letsrock pic.twitter.com/Wdf5yYrDMA
— Team Gushue (@TeamGushue) November 30, 2024
Today’s quarterfinal action sees Gushue go up against unbeaten Brad Jacobs (4-0), while Scotland’s Ross Whyte (3-1) battles Joel Retornaz (2-2) of Italy, and Bruce Mouat (3-1) of Scotland goes up against American John Shuster (3-1).
Undefeated McEwen is also in, but awaiting the winner of today’s tiebreaker between Hoesli and Germany’s Team Muskatewitz.
The men’s quarters are set for 4 p.m. with the semi-finals scheduled for 8 p.m.
The Jacobs and Gushue rinks know each other well, and some a little more than others.
Brett Gallant, now with Jacobs, curled with Gushue when they won the Brier in St. John’s and the ensuing world championship in 2017.
Gallant says it’s great to be back in St. John’s, adding he’s expecting a tough quarterfinal match against his former team.
“The three of us played with Brendan Bottcher the previous two years and we brought Brad (Jacobs) on as skip this year,” says Gallant. “It’s obviously a bit of a learning curve but the chemistry has been there right away, and Brad is a hell-of-a shot-maker, too.”
“The three of us played with Brendan Bottcher the previous two years and we brought Brad (Jacobs) on as skip this year,” says Gallant.
“It’s obviously a bit of a learning curve but the chemistry has been there right away, and Brad is a hell-of-a shot-maker, too.”
Meanwhile, many of Gushue’s fans have been walking around the rink with a little extra spring in their step.
In addition to hats and shirts available at the merchandise stand, fans can also get a pair of Brad Gu-SHOES.
It’s a pair of Converse high-tops with a patriotic design evoking Brad’s Newfoundland roots.
Fans have been scooping them up, with some asking the skip to autograph them, something which he loves doing.
Gushue says organizers reached out to him in the summer with the idea and several designs.
