McEwen, Saskatchewan advance to Brier final after beating Bottcher, Alberta

REGINA — When he made a shot for his first three of the Brier semi-final, Mike McEwen admits, after he fist-pumped and high-fived his teammates and pumped his broom in the air and yelled “Yeah!” a few times, that he really couldn’t help but show some of the emotion he was feeling inside.

You sure can’t blame the veteran skipper.

On Sunday afternoon, the home Team Saskatchewan took down Canada’s No. 1 team, a game they led from start to finish, to earn a date with Brad Gushue and Team Canada in the night’s final, to the delight of 4,854 amped-up fans at the Brandt Centre.

“I mean, that just lends to the environment, that’s how good it is out there,” McEwen said with a grin, of the Sunday afternoon crowd that he cheered right along with on the ice. “Yeah, I couldn’t control myself. It was just too good.”

In the semifinal against Brendan Bottcher and Alberta, Saskatchewan started with hammer and were in control the whole game, right to the 7-3 finish. In the third end — that first big shot, where McEwen exploded with this crowd — the roof just about blew off the Brandt Centre.

McEwen hit a runback double takeout to stick for two on his first. In his second shot, McEwen had a takeout for a possible three and nailed it. The skipper pumped his fists as that rock sailed down the ice, as amped as he’d been all week. 

Every Saskatchewan player threw up his arms and showed fired-up fist-pumping energy as fans came to their feet, roaring, clapping, clanging cowbells, waving green and yellow flags.

It has been 44 years since this province last won the Brier. To say they’re hungry for another is an understatement. There was even a band rink side Sunday afternoon, complete with drums and a tuba, all of its members wearing Saskatchewan green.

You might hear “Saskaaaaatchewaaaaaan” from the crowd as everyone’s getting quiet ahead of an opponent’s throw. And the “Let’s go Saskatchewan” cheers, followed by thunderous applause, between shots. Talk to any sports fan here and they’ll tell you they “bleed green,” that they’ve been waiting for more than four decades for another win on this biggest curling stage in the country.

And now they’re just one win away.  

Yes, ending that 44-years-long drought is on the minds of the twin Marsh brothers, Dan the lead and Kevin the second, who were born here and now live in Saskatoon, along with the fiery third, Colton Flasch, who’s originally from nearby Biggar and is built like a linebacker who sweeps like one too.

"Our goal coming in here was to be there in the final game on Sunday. It's something we've talked about and thought about, and it's in our goals, right?” Kevin said. “This is where we expect to be and if we play really well, I think we'll be in a good spot come Sunday."

Indeed they are in a good spot.

Flasch, 33, owns a construction company and won the Brier back in 2019 as Alberta’s second with Kevin Koe at the helm, and in the seventh end, he made a runback double that got this crowd on its feet and set up Saskatchewan to score another three.

Bottcher attempted a freeze, but his line was just off, and McEwen made the shot to give Saskatchewan a 6-2 lead.

“It was the same as we've kind of put together some earlier games this week where we played really well,” McEwen said, of taking out the No. 1 seed. “It didn't look different. And the guys just played so good in front of me.”

Team Alberta did have a chance to make it close. In the eighth, Saskatchewan was sitting shot rock, but Alberta had three stones in play. Bottcher was forced to settle to draw for a single, and it was 6-3 heading into nine.

Saskatchewan added a single in nine and the teams shook hands. It was over. The crowd was on its feet, and the Brandt Centre again hit an absolute boil. The fellas in green on the ice exchanged some hard high-fives, put their brooms in the air and slid off.

They’ll play for the title tonight.

“They were a tough team to beat today, and they’ll be a tough team to beat in the final,” Bottcher said.

McEwen, 43, has been talking all week about how he lost his love of curling a few years ago. How he rediscovered it only in the last year or so. How he went to a dark place to get here, to get back to loving it.

What a story it is to see him lead the home province to the final.

“Go Mikey!” you’ll hear from the crowd. They’ve taken him in as one of their own.

“It’s going to go down as one of the best memories ever in my whole career, no matter how it ends,” McEwen said, on Saturday. 

It ends for certain Sunday night against Gushue and Team Canada, and we’ll see whether the import skip known as “Magic Mike” can bring a little more of that magic in the biggest game of his life. The biggest game of Flasch’s and Kevin and Dan Marsh’s lives, too.

“Honestly, I can’t imagine a more electric situation,” McEwen said.  “I mean, Brad is so loved by Canadian curling fans, right? To have that matchup in the final, I mean, that's what everybody dreams of, both the athlete and the fan experience.

“It’s going to be wild tonight.”