Aylmer skip finishes the 2015 Brier with a positive record 

 

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

Jean-Michel Ménard representing Team Québec at the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier finished the tournament in sixth place, March 5, only two spots outside a playoff spot. Ménard, an Aylmer resident, finished the tournament with six wins and five loses, missing the cut by only one victory.

 

Team Saskatchewan (Laycock) and Team Canada (Morris) squeezed into the playoffs with seven wins and four losses, only one better than Team Québec, tied with fifth place Team Alberta. A determining game for Team Ménard was their penultimate round-robin game against Team Canada.

 

Before facing Team Morris, Ménard’s foursome was riding high having won the four games prior. Regardless, Team Canada managed to get the first point in the second round but Team Québec quickly tied it up 1-1 in the third round. Team Canada replied in the fourth round by scoring two and obtaining the lead which they would not relinquish even with Team Québec scoring two points in the ninth round. The final score was 7-5 for Morris.

Even with the loss, Team Ménard still had a chance to squeeze into the playoffs if they won their last game, but it wasn’t to be. Team Québec lost 7-4 to Team Gushue representing Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

Ménard, competing in his third Brier, still managed to finish the Canadian men’s curling championship with a positive record accumulating six wins and five loses. Team Canada won the tournament by defeating Team Jacobs representing Northern Ontario, 6-5, in the finals.