Vernon’s Jim Cotter will play his final two games Friday at the Tim Hortons Brier Canadian Men’s Curling Championship in Brandon for pride against teams in the same situation as the B.C. champs.
Cotter will face Manitoba’s Mike McEwen and Saskatchewan’s Kirk Muyres to complete his eighth appearance at the Brier. All three teams have 4-5 records and were eliminated from contention Thursday.
Team Wild Card, skipped by Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton, scored an 8-3 win over Cotter Thursday in the second draw of the championship pool. Bottcher snapped a 1-1 tie with a deuce in the fourth end, then stole three in the fifth end for a 6-1 advantage. Cotter has lost three straight.
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Bottcher is 7-2 and in third place in the eight-team championship pool that will see the top four teams advance the playoffs after Friday’s two draws.
Alberta’s Kevin Koe of Calgary is 9-0 after scoring two with the last stone in the 10th end to beat McEwen 6-5 Thursday night.
Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario dropped to 8-1, suffering a 7-6, 11-end loss to Ontario’s Scott McDonald, who is 6-3 after having won three in a row.
Defending champion Brad Gushue’s Team Canada squad is 8-1 after an 8-4 win over Muyres.
Cotter, third Steve Laycock of Saskatoon and lead Rick Sawatsky of Vernon are each appearing in their eighth Briers. Second Tyrel Griffith of Kelowna is playing in his sixth national championship.
