Brown, Dunstone rinks getting tune-up for Olympic trials at PointsBet Invitational

All of the rinks that have already qualified for the trials on the men’s and women’s sides are in the field in Cowtown.

“We’re basically treating this like it’s our Trials trial run,” Dunstone said on Wednesday [Oct. 1] morning, speaking to CFJC Today from Calgary ahead of his first draw. “We want to go and learn a little bit more about ourselves, this team and learn a little bit more about the teams we’re going to be playing in November.”

Dunstone knocked off Rylan Kleiter 5-3 on Wednesday to improve to 1-0 at the PointsBet, with the rink scheduled to be back in action on Thursday, a 5:30 p.m. start against Sam Mooibroek (0-1).

Winnipeg-based Team Dunstone — which includes the skip from Kamloops, third Colton Lott, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden — is ranked fourth in the world and second in Canada after a victory at the Grand Slam of Curling AMJ Masters this past weekend in London, Ont.

“We’ve been together now for close to a year and we’ve made a lot of deep runs and haven’t quite finished off a big one yet and now we did, so I think it’s exactly what this team needed,” said Dunstone, whose only other Grand Slam win came at the 2019 Masters.

“It’s a perfect way to start the season. Hopefully, this is the beginning of something for us.”

The Masters triumph marked the first Grand Slam win for Lott, the 10th for E.J. Harnden and the eighth for his brother Ryan.

This iteration of Team Dunstone suffered agonizing defeat in the Brier final in Kelowna earlier this year, so the Masters triumph could bolster belief in killer instinct.

During the Masters final — a 6-4 win over Ross Whyte of Scotland that ended a run five straight Slam wins for Scottish teams — the crowd broke into a rendition of O Canada.

“I didn’t expect it,” Dunstone said. “But I mean, it was cool, right? It was a subtle reminder in that moment of the season we have ahead and the opportunities that could present themselves for us.”

Dunstone earned more than $30,000 for its first-place finish at the Masters, a sizeable pay day after finishing out of the money and the playoffs with a 2-3 record at the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic last month in Cornwall, Ont.

At the PointsBet Invitational, winners will take home $35,000, runners-up earn $15,000 and each round-robin victory is worth $2,500.

Team Brown could use some of that coin.

The reigning B.C. champions are trying to find their stride after three events this season.

“I would say our record doesn’t necessarily indicate how we’re currently playing,” skip Corryn Brown said on Wednesday morning. “I think we’ve had some games not go our way based on some wicky-ticky shots or just not making the right shot at the right time, so we’re right there, but we just haven’t necessarily put it all together.”

(Brown said a wicky-ticky shot is the equivalent of a lucky bounce.)

The Kamloops rink appears to be finding its groove at the PointsBet, posting two wins on Wednesday — 9-4 over Selena Sturmay and 13-5 over Kerri Einarson.

Brown (2-0) is slated to be in action next on Friday against Kate Cameron (1-0), with game time scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

The PointsBet Invitational marks the fourth event of the season for Team Brown, which includes skip Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Sarah Koltun and lead Samantha Fisher.

Brown’s best finish to date this season came at the Saville Grand Prix in Edmonton, where it posted a 3-1 record in round-robin play before making a quarter-final exit to earn $1,750.

The rink — ranked 26th in the world and 17th in Canada — posted one victory in four games at the Saville Shootout and four consecutive losses at the tier 2 AMJ Masters, missing the playoffs in both events.

“Fortunately, championships aren’t won in September,” Brown said. “We’re really excited to get going here this week and build on what we’ve done throughout these first three events.”

by Marty Hastings

Brown, Dunstone rinks getting tune-up for Olympic trials at PointsBet Invitational

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