2004 Canadian men's curling championship rosters
By Bill Graveland
The Canadian Press
A quick look at the teams competing in the Nokia Brier, the 2004 Canadian men's curling championship, which runs March 6-14 in Saskatoon (skip in parentheses):
Alberta (Randy Ferbey)
Club: Avonair Curling Club, Edmonton.
Team: David Nedohin, Scott Pfeifer, Marcel Rocque, Dan Holowaychuk.
History: Ferbey will be looking for a record fourth straight Brier title. His team is already the only squad to win three championships in a row and he has won back-to-back world titles as well. Ferbey also won two championships when he played for Pat Ryan in 1988 and 1989. It will be the fourth Brier appearance for Nedohin (who throws fourth rocks), along with Pfeifer and Rocque. Nedohin has won the Hec Gervais Award as the Brier Playoff MVP for the past three years. Ferbey is a strong favourite to repeat again this year.
British Columbia (Jay Peachey)
Club: Royal City Curling Club, New Westminster.
Team (third to alternate): Ron Leech, Kevin Recksiedler, Brad Fenton, Jamie Smith.
History: First appearance at the Brier. Peachey won the B.C. curling championship in Nanaimo on Feb. 8, defeating Kamloops' Scott Decap 7-5 in the final.
Manitoba (Brent Scales)
Club: Swan River Curling Club, Swan River.
Team: Gord Hardy, Grant Spicer, Todd Trevellyan, Doug Harrison.
History: First Brier appearance for Scales who won the Safeway Select provincial title, edging top-seeded Jeff Stoughton, 7-6 in the final. Scales finished runner-up in the provincial playdown in 2003 to John Bubbs.
New Brunswick (Russ Howard)
Club: Beaver Curling Club, Moncton.
Team: James Grattan, Marc LeCocq, Grant Odishaw, Steven Howard.
History: This team has plenty of Brier experience. Howard will compete in his 13th Brier (all as skip) and passes Bernie Sparkes in terms of all-time appearances. Howard has won two Brier championships (with Ontario in 1987 and 1993) and two world championships. Grattan has played in three Briers for New Brunswick and finished third in 1997 in Calgary. LeCocq has three Brier appearances while Odishaw has been there six times. Howard has traditionally done well at the Brier and is a good bet to finish in the top four.
Newfoundland (Brad Gushue)
Club: Bally Haly Golf and Curling Club, St. John's.
Team: Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab, Mark Ward, Mike Adam.
History: Gushue is making his second straight trip to the Brier, finishing at 6-5 in Halifax in 2003. The final against Mark Noseworthy, which originally was scheduled for Feb. 15 was delayed and postponed until the next day due to a power outage created by temperatures that reached -50. Gushue played in six Canadian junior championships for Newfoundland, winning in 2001 as skip. He appeared to have little trouble making the jump from junior and missed the playoffs by one game last year.
Northern Ontario (Robbie Gordon)
Club: Cobalt-Haileybury Curling Club, Haileybury.
Team: Brian Fawcett, Steve Burnett, Jeremy Landry, Larry Carr.
History: Another team making its first appearance at the Brier. Gordon won the Northern Ontario Labatt Tankard in Sault Ste. Marie on Feb. 14 defeating Jeff Currie 6-3 in the final. Gordon played second for Northern Ontario in the 1979 Canadian junior championships.
Nova Scotia (Mark Dacey)
Club: Mayflower Curling Club, Halifax.
Team: Bruce Lohnes, Rob Harris, Andrew Gibson, Mathew Harris.
History: Dacey has played in three Briers, as skip for Nova Scotia in 2001 and 2003 and as third for Saskatchewan's Brad Heidt in 1995. Lost the 2003 final to Randy Ferbey in Halifax. Dacey was a member of the North American team at the 2003 Continental Cup, skipped in the 2004 Strauss Canada Cup and played in four Canadian mixed championships. He brings back his entire team from last year.
Ontario (Mike Harris)
Club: Oakville Curling Club, Oakville.
Team: John Base, Phil Loevenmark, Trevor Wall, Ross Scarrow.
History: Mike Harris comes in as the most famous rookie skip. Best known for winning the 1997 Olympic trials and winning an Olympic silver medal for Canada in 1998 but this is the first time he has made it out of Ontario. Harris skipped Ontario at 1986 Canadian juniors and the 1989 Canadian mixed. Has worked as a television commentator for CBC curling coverage.
Prince Edward Island (Mike Gaudet)
Club: Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club, Summerside.
Team: Evan Sullivan, Craig Arsenault, Sean Ledgerwood, Rod MacDonald.
History: Gaudet is making his second trip to the Brier after skipping P.E.I. in Red Deer in 1994. Finished third in 1992 Canadian Juniors and skipped in 1998 Canadian mixed. Brother to PEI skip Suzanne Gaudet who played in Scott Tournament of Hearts this year in Red Deer.
Quebec (Daniel Lafleur)
Club: Rosemere Curling Club, Rosemere.
Team: Steve Gagnon, Jean-Sebastien Roy, Maurice Cayouette, Serge Friolet.
History: Lafleur is making his first appearance as skip and beat two-time Brier runner-up Guy Hemmings 5-2 in the final. Appeared as alternate for Quebec's Don Westphal at 1996 and 1997 Briers. Played second in 2003 Canadian Mixed. Gagnon skipped Quebec at the 1995 Brier.
Saskatchewan (Bruce Korte)
Club: Muenster Curling Club, Muenster.
Team: Clint Dieno, Roger Korte, Rory Golanowski, Darrell McKee.
History Korte is making his second trip to a Brier in Saskatoon. He skipped Saskatchewan to a 5-6 record in 2000.
Yukon-Northwest Territories (Brian Wasnea)
Club: Whitehorse Curling Club, Whitehorse
Team: Pat Molloy, Bruce Hunt, Kevin Sumner, Clarence Jack.
History: Wasnea captured the Yukon/Northwest Territories Labatt Tankard in Whitehorse on Feb. 15, defeating Yellowknife's Peter O'Driscoll, 7-4 in the final game. Wasnea has previous Brier experience as second for skip Orest Peech on the 0-11 Yukon/NWT team at the 1999 Labatt Brier in Edmonton.
