After years of trying, I, a reporter for the Carman Dufferin Standard, am finally headed to my first Brier in Montana later this month. This comes after winning the 2025 Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Men’s Curling Championships last month in St. John’s.
I would like to extend a big thank you to all the local residents in the Carman area who reached out to offer their congratulations. Many have asked me to write a story in the paper about how we accomplished this, so I thought I would indulge you with a quick recap of the events that transpired.
Before this season, I spent the past three years throwing third stones for Team Ryan Wiebe out of the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg. We were ranked in the top 10 in Canada and had the chance to compete in some of the world’s biggest tour events, including Grand Slams and the PointsBet Invitational. However, we never advanced to the Brier because, in Manitoba, we faced tough competition against teams like Mike McEwen, Matt Dunstone, and Reid Carruthers each year. We came close at each of the three provincial championships, but we just couldn’t break through.
When our team split up at the end of last season, I made a conscious decision to join a team that had a strong chance of making it to the Brier, even if it meant leaving my home province. I started looking at the “weaker” provinces and examining what options were available. This led me to a talented group of young players from Newfoundland: Ryan McNeil Lamswood, Daniel Bruce, and Aaron Feltham. Two of them had previously reached a Canadian Junior final, and our group had lost in the Newfoundland provincial men’s semifinal for the past few years.
I joined the team as the skip, hoping to lead us to the Brier for the first time. We met up for a bonspiel in late October in Halifax and performed exceptionally well, demonstrating early chemistry and making a run to the playoffs. Afterward, I represented Team Manitoba at the Canadian Mixed Championships in St. Catharines, Ontario, as I had won the mixed provincials the previous spring. We reached the playoffs and finished in fourth place.
After that, I practiced on my own in Winnipeg and occasionally spared for different teams at World Curling Tour events across Canada, while my teammates practiced together whenever possible.
The recent Newfoundland and Labrador provincials was a 12-team triple knockout event. We finished the week with a strong record of 9-1, winning the championship. The finals resembled a best-of-five series against last year’s champion, Andrew Symonds, who had a strong team at their home club. Each game went down to the final rock and presented its own set of challenges, which we managed to overcome.
In the first game, with the score tied and the hammer in the final end, I made a crucial draw to the button to secure the victory. In the second game, we fell behind early but fought back to tie the game with the hammer in the last end, ultimately clinching the win. In the third game, my team experienced nerves being so close to our first Brier and struggled early on, trailing throughout the game.
In the eighth end, I made a long angle runback to score one, narrowing the gap to 5-3. In the ninth end, we miraculously stole two points to tie the game after I made a thin double and they missed a hit through a port. Then, in the tenth end, we placed our stones well, allowing us to steal the winning point after they failed to make a difficult tap back on their last rock.
After our victory, the atmosphere in the St. John’s Curling Club was pure pandemonium, with an estimated 500 people cheering, including many family members of my teammates, who were all very emotional and elated. That night, I was “screeched in,” making me an honorary Newfoundlander. You’ll have to look that one up if you don’t know what it means!
I am thrilled and relieved to finally be heading to my first Brier, taking place from Feb. 28 to March 9 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia. After getting so close on several occasions, I wondered if I would ever get there. So, for it to happen like this with this group of guys is incredibly special. We plan to fully embrace the Brier experience and enjoy the week in Kelowna.
Feel free to become an honorary Newfoundlander for the week and cheer us on if you’re looking for a break from the familiar Manitoba rinks at the Brier. We would gladly appreciate all the support we can get.
