Kevin Koe got a little extra practice on Sunday at the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian men’s curling championship in Kamloops, B.C.
The Alberta champions stole 10 points in the first four ends of their morning contest against New Brunswick’s James Gratton, including five in the third end, and spent the rest of the game working out some kinks.
“After the fourth end, they asked if they could quit,” Koe said of a discussion with officials. “I think the rule states you have to play eight, but they told us we had to play seven, so that’s what we did. I don’t totally understand the rule. There are other games for people to watch. I don’t think they’re watching much of ours.”
Koe, the 2010 Canadian and world champion, eventually won 10-1. He said it was tough to play a game that lopsided so quickly.
“You try to work on a few things. Carter (Rycroft) had some things he wanted to work on. That’s about all you can do,” he said.
Alberta fifth man Jamie King quipped: “Any time you don’t have the hammer for an hour and a half, it’s a good thing.” King was competing in the fifth-man competition Sunday night with beer, pizza and pride on the line.
Koe’s second game Sunday was also one-sided. He scored three in the first end and stole another point in the second to take an early 4-0 lead en route to a 9-4 victory over Brad Gushue’s Newfoundland/Labrador rink.
The Alberta rink, which includes Pat Simmons at third, Rycroft at second and Nolan Thiessen at lead, are in a five-way tie for third place at 2-1. Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton leads the field with a 4-0 record while British Columbia’s John Morris is second at 3-1.
Stoughton scored five in the 10th end to beat Grattan 9-5 while Morris counted three in the final end to beat Nova Scotia’s Jamie Murphy 8-6 in the evening draw. Morris lost 7-4 to Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard in the afternoon draw.
Koe plays his brother, Jamie, in the 2:30 p.m. MST draw and Stoughton at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Jamie’s Northwest Territories team is 1-2.
