Team Alberta, skipped by Airdrie's Aaron Sluchinski, started the 2024 Montana’s Brier strong in Regina with a 8-4 win over Kevin Koe's Alberta Wildcard for their first tournament win. Sluchinski and his team followed that win up with a 12-10 win over Nunavut to secure their second win of the 2024 Montana's Brier in as many games.
The two wins placed Sluchinski's Alberta team at the top of the Pool B standings, tied with Saskatchewan for first place. But the undefeated record was short-lived.
Sluchinski's Alberta team lost their first game of the Brier Monday morning against Prince Edward Island 8-5 and then followed it up with another loss the same day to Team Nova Scotia, 6-2. The two losses pushed Sluchinski and company to fifth place in the Pool B standings.
Alberta got another shot at returning to the win column against an insurgent 3-1 Saskatchewan team. However, Sluchinski and the Alberta team failed to topple Saskatchewan and lost 11-6 for their third straight loss, dropping them to sixth place in Pool B.
Wednesday's tournament play saw Sluchinski and the rest of team Alberta break their losing slump with a nail-biting 10-8 win over Quebec in the morning draw. The win pulled Alberta back to a 3-3 record with another game scheduled against Northwest Territories later in the day.
Team Alberta’s final pool play game will be on Thursday and it will come against a Brad Gushue led Canada team that currently sits in first place in Pool B.
The Brier will continue until March 10 with the winner getting to represent Canada at the World Championship in Schaffhausen, Switzerland March 30 to April 7.
Team Alberta will square off against Team Northwest Territories later today, March 6 for a decisive match at 5 p.m. Mountain Time.
