Dunstone outlasts Gushue to earn spot in Sunday’s Brier championship game

The road to a fourth consecutive title got a little tougher for Team Canada on Saturday after Brad Gushue’s rink fell to Manitoba-Dunstone.

The six-time champion skip will now lead his rink to a semifinal match against Brad Jacobs and team Alberta for the opportunity to set up a rematch with Dunstone’s rink in the Brier finale.

Saturday saw two playoff matches take place at the Brier as Brad Jacobs and Team Alberta opened the day with an afternoon draw against Team Carruthers of Manitoba.

Down 5-2 in the eighth frame, Team Carruthers posted a single and then tied the game with a deuce in the ninth end.

However, it was Brad Jacobs’ rink who got the last laugh as they scored a single in the 10th and final end to take the 6-5 win and eliminate Carruthers.

Jacobs and his teammates then turned their attention to the evening draw as they would be facing the loser Sunday morning.

Down 2-1 in the third frame, Matt Dunstone’s rink capitalized on Gushue missing the double takeout and scored a deuce to take a 3-2 lead.

Gushue scored a single in the next end and Dunstone was held to once score in the following frame.

The next score did not come until the ninth end after Dunstone posted a deuce to go up 6-4 and give Gushue the hammer in the 10th end.

With the house full of rocks and needing to work some magic, Gushue was unable to score in the final frame and Dunstone stole a single to take the 7-4 win and book a spot in Sunday’s finale.

The semifinal game is scheduled for 11 am and the final is at 5 pm.