Skip Jim Cotter led his team to a 9-4 win over Team Montgomery Sunday morning (Feb. 3) in the 2019 B.C. Men’s Curling Championships in Quesnel to earn a trip to his eighth Brier.
Team Cotter, who plays out of Vernon and Kamloops, was up 6-1 after five ends, but Victoria’s Team Montgomery stormed back in the second half of the game, scoring one unanswered point in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth ends to come within two points. Team Cotter secured the victory with three unanswered points in the ninth.
Cotter says his team’s bond is probably one of their biggest strengths.
“It’s just remarkable … we’re really close on and off the ice, and I think that that’s what brings success,” he said right after the win. “Curling’s a unique sport in that you only have four individuals, and if you have one loose cog on the wheel, it’s going to be real tough. So that’s probably our biggest strength, our team, how we get along so well.”
Cotter describes Team Montgomery, whom he faced for the third time this week, as a “fabulous” team.
“We knew they were going to come in hard,” he said. “Sometimes getting an early lead isn’t necessarily a good thing, but you know what, we hung on there, and it was just a shot here or there.
“None of us got too worked up, I know I wasn’t anyway — you’re just playing the scoreboard at that point.”
As winners of the 2019 B.C. Men’s Curling Championships, Cotter, lead Rick Sawatsky, second Tyrel Griffith, third Steve Laycock and fifth Brad Wood will represent the province at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier March 2-10 in Brandon, Man.
“Oh, it never gets old; it feels great,” Cotter says of returning to the Brier. “The guys played fabulous all week, and [we] couldn’t be happier right now.”
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