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Penetanguishene’s Glenn Howard wrapped up the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier on Thursday evening with a 10-2 win over Team Yukon, skipped by Thomas Scoffin.
The Howard rink, which includes third Scott Howard, second David Mathers, and lead Tim March, finished the round robin of the 10-day, 18-team event with a record of 4-4 thanks to Thursday’s victory.
After opening the tournament with three straight losses, the team proceeded to win three of four to end the event.
“We were playing with pride out there,” Howard said in an interview with Curling Canada when asked about finishing well. “We wanted to win as many games as we could. To go 1-4 and we knew we were out of it, to win the last three is pretty special.”
Asked about his future, the 59-year-old said he’s taking things “one year at a time.”
“I feel like I can still make some shots and I’m having fun with the boys. It’s a riot being out there,” Howard said. “I think if I’m healthy enough, I’d like to play another year.”
With the hammer to start against Scoffin, Howard picked up a pair in the opening end to take the early lead.
After Scoffin got on the board with a single in the second, Howard made a hit for one against two Yukon rocks to take a 3-1 lead through three ends.
Facing three in the fourth end, Scoffin tried to slip through an open hole to score one and wrecked a guard which led to a steal of four for Howard.
Howard extended the lead further with a steal of a pair in the fifth end
After Scoffin picked up a single in the sixth end, Howard blanked the seventh end before
The top three teams in each nine-team pool advanced to the expanded playoff format, which begins on Friday.
Alberta’s Kevin Koe and Team Canada’s Brendan Bottcher clinched playoff spots in Pool A heading into Thursday’s draw, each finishing the round robin with 7-1 records.
After play on Thursday, Saskatchewan’s Colton Flasch and Matt Dunstone’s wild card team will play in a tiebreaker on Friday morning to determine the third playoff team from Pool A.
