Sault Ste. Marie’s Brad Jacobs has a Canada Cup title.
A strong round robin performance continued into the final, giving Jacobs his first Canada Cup title on Sunday night.
Jacobs hit and stuck for a single in the 10th end to beat Calgary’s Kevin Koe 5-4 in the Canada Cup final on Sunday night in Estevan, Sask.
The Jacobs rink, which includes third Marc Kennedy, second E.J. Harnden, and lead Ryan Harnden, advanced directly to the final after posting a 5-1 record in the round robin and Jacobs spoke of the job Kennedy and the Harnden’s did in front of him in the final.
“The guys played unbelievable in front of me,” Jacobs told TSN following the win. “Ryan, E.J. and Marc were unbelievable. I didn’t have to make a whole lot of tough shots out there. I’m really proud of us right now.”
Jacobs also spoke of how he feels the team is in a good place at this point in the season.
“We’re right where we want to be,” Jacobs said. “We’re confident. We’ve got a great relationship going with Adam Kingsbury (as coach). He’s done wonders for us to this point and also Arthur (Perlini), our psychologist back home. We’ve got two psych guys helping us out and they’ve been tremendous.”
Kennedy joined the team in place of Ryan Fry, who has taken a leave from the team for personal reasons. Kennedy told Curling.ca earlier in the week that he has gained an appreciation
“You get into that inner circle and you see what makes guys tick, what gets them up, why they play, their love for the sport, their values, their morals, their ethics,” said Kennedy. “I’ve been beyond impressed with what I’ve seen, and a lot in common with them, to be honest – more so than I ever thought. I think we’ve meshed together pretty well.”
Koe advanced to the final thanks to a semifinal win over Brad Gushue of St. John’s, Nfld. on Saturday.
The Jacobs rink returns to action on Tuesday night in the opening draw of the National, the next Grand Slam of Curling event.
Jacobs will face Scott McDonald of Kingston, Ont. in the opening draw.
Fry will not be with the team for the National. The Jacobs rink will have Matt Wozniak curling as second while E.J. Harnden will throw third stones.