Saskatoon-Before participating in the Canadian Olympic curling trials, Brad Jacobs and his team lost three consecutive games in the last game may be exactly what they needed.

The quick withdrawal from the recent Grand Slam tournament forced the veteran skating rink to strengthen competition and preparation. So far this week, the results have been displayed in the SaskTel Center.

On Thursday, Jacobs took full control of the defending champion Kevin Co. He defeated another competitor 8-2 and finished second with a score of 5-1.

Jacobs said: "We are very happy to be able to go out, put our things there, and go all out in every shot." "That's what we really care about."

In the National game in Chestermere, Alta, a score of 1-3 set the alarm before the biggest domestic event held every four years. Jacobs described the show as "give us our ass".

"This is the best thing that can happen," said the third Mark Kennedy. "I think we have a season, we played very well, but other teams also made a lot of mistakes.

"In Chester Mill, the team played very well for us and we knew,'Well, we need to start the game again. We need to prepare hard, we have to realize that it is not easy.'"

In the trial, the powerful front-end of Ryan Harnden and EJ Harnden prepared Kennedy and Jacobs for their contribution to a team that seemed efficient, committed and energetic.

Kennedy said: "We have been feeding each other well, and the effect has been very good."

Jacobs opened with three impressive victories, and his team shot 94% of the only loss, which was an overtime loss to Brad Gush. After scoring only 9 points in the national team's three losses, this is a considerable change.

Jacobs said of the Grand Slam: "I would say that we weren't as involved as we had to be." "We worked very hard technically and didn't show up that week. We were fooled by ice and rocks.

"It really boils down to getting ready for the game every time you step on the ice. That is our normal selves, and we were not our normal selves in the last game."

Jacobs has always shown the same status that allowed him to win in the 2013 trials. The following year, he continued to win Olympic gold medals.

Kennedy joined the team in 2019, won the Olympic gold medal with Kevin Martin in 2010, and returned to the Olympics with Coy in 2018.

At the same time, Gushue (6-1) defeated Tanner Horgan 10-1 and won the playoff spot. Koe tied for third place with Mike McEwen 4-2, who defeated John Epping 6-2.

"Intensity is rising," Jacobs said. "There is no doubt. There are more games now. Every game now affects the standings, and there are many very good games."

The round robin ends on Friday night. The top three teams will enter the playoffs.

Epping (3-3) and Jason Gunnlaugson (2-4) still have the opportunity to participate in the weekend competition. Gunnlaugson nearly scored a three-pointer to force an extra end, but a measure confirmed the 7-6 tie to Brendan Bottcher.

Bottcher leads Horgan (1-5) and idle Matt Dunstone (1-5) 2-5.

Tracy Fleury (7-0) defeated Laura Walker 11-7 in the morning booked her playoff tickets and defeated Casey 10-3 in the evening · Casey Scheidegger (Casey Scheidegger) won the first seed and goodbye to Sunday finals.

Walker beat Krista McCarville 9-5 to rebound. Kerri Einarson defeated Rachel Homan 7-6, and Kelsey Rocque defeated Jacqueline Harrison 8-5.

In the morning draw, Horman defeated Jennifer Jones 7-5, McCawell defeated Rock 8-7, and Scheidegger defeated Harrison 7-6.

With one women's draw left, Jones ranked second at 5-2 and Enassen ranked third at 4-3. McCawell finished 4-4, Scheidegger and Walker finished 3-4.

Horman, Harrison and Rock (all 2-5) will not advance.

The tiebreaker (if needed) and the semi-finals will be held on Saturday. The Beijing Olympic Games are scheduled to be held from February 4th to 20th.

The Canadian Press report was first published on November 25, 2021.