 VIRGINIA, Minn. — Team Brad Jacobs wanted some tough, pressure-packed 10-end games to prepare for what’s to come in this pivotal curling season. The reigning Montana’s Brier champs from Calgary got them over the past week at the 2025 United States Steel Pan Continental Curling Championships, and they also got a gold medal for their efforts. Team Canada claimed that gold with a 7-3 win over Team John Shuster of the United States Sunday afternoon at the Iron Trail Motors Event Center. With the victory, Jacobs, vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, lead Ben Hebert, alternate Tyler Tardi, team coach Paul Webster and national coach Jeff Stoughton finished off an unbeaten week in Minnesota, and gave Canada its third gold medal in the four-year history of the Pan Continentals, which will cease to exist after this season. It also set the stage for Team Jacobs as it begins its final preparations for the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials, presented by Connect Hearing, beginning Nov. 22 in Halifax. “We played some tough teams here, especially in the last couple of games,” said Jacobs. “Great crowd, great ice, and I think it was a great simulation for the next Slam (beginning Nov. 4 in Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and the Trials. It's always great to throw the Maple Leaf on, and it makes you a little bit more hungry and motivated to go and try to wear it again.” It was a tight first five ends; three blanked ends opened the game, and then Jacobs was forced to hit for a single in the fourth facing two U.S. counters. An end later, when Jacobs was heavy on his last-rock draw to bury a stone at the back of the four-foot, Shuster was able to draw for a go-ahead deuce. In the sixth, though, Canada replied with a deuce of its own, set up a by a nice hit-and-roll from Jacobs on his first delivery, and then making a double-takeout with his last stone. The U.S. blanked the seventh, and then Canada was able to force Shuster into a draw for a single in the eighth. The ninth was shaping up as a blank, but Shuster’s freeze attempt on his last stone bounced into the open, giving Jacobs the open hit for two to break the tie and all but officially nail down the victory. After giving away some opportunities in the first half of the game, Jacobs said his team’s ability to deal with that frustration played a role in the victory. “It was just a game of patience,” he said. “We kind of talked about that at the fifth-end break after we gave up the deuce. We had a deuce set up (in the second end) and we didn't convert it early on. That was frustrating. So it was just about managing our emotions and not letting that get the best of us. I think that was a really professional win by our team.” Now the focus turns to the next five weeks that will feature a Grand Slam event beginning Nov. 4 in Lake Tahoe, Calif., and then the Montana’s Trials in Halifax, where Canada’s four-player teams that will be nominated to the Canadian Olympic Committee to wear Maple Leaf the Winter Olympics will be decided. “Any time you're in a final it's important to take advantage of those opportunities,” said Gallant. “There’s something different in a final, a little bit more pressure and you want to test yourself be able to perform in those circumstances. I thought we played a really strong game against really tough opponent today and we know we're going to be in that situation hopefully throughout this season.” Earlier Sunday, Japan’s Team Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi claimed the men’s bronze medal, taking two in the 10th end for a 6-5 win over China’s Team Xiaoming Xu. In the women’s bronze-medal game, South Korea’s Team Eunji Gim posted an 11-8 win over Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States. The Pan Continental Championships conclude later Sunday with the women’s gold-medal game at 5:30 p.m. ET, featuring defending champions Team Rachel Homan of Ottawa against Team Rui Wang of China. Scores, standings and full team lineups are available by CLICKING HERE. All games will be available on World Curling’s streaming platform, The Curling Channel. This story will be posted in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/nouvelles-media/ |
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Calgary's Brad Jacobs (Photo: Curling Canada/Andrew Klaver) defeats Winnipeg's Matt Dunstone 6-5, winning 2 games to 0 in a best-of-three final at the Montana's Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Halifax, N.
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