Cotter's Brier dream fading

Photo: Contributed - Michael Burns

UPDATE 10 P.M.

Jim Cotter is all but out of contention at the Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary.

Cotter and his rink from the Kelowna and Vernon curling clubs fell 8-3 to Manitoba Wednesday night in what was a virtual must-win game for both rinks who already found themselves sitting with four losses.

Cotter stole one in the first and scored another in the fourth to tie the score at 2-2 but it was Manitoba's Reid Carruthers who took over after that.

Thee Manitoba champion scored a pair in the fifth, stole a single in six then scored three more in eight before the gloves finally came off.

Cotter, now 3-5, would have to leapfrog four teams above hm to earn a playoff berth with just three round robin games left.

He will have to beat the Northwest Territories and New Brunswick Thursday and hope a few teams fall back to make Friday's game with Saskatchewan mean something in the standings.

Northern Ontario leads the way at 9-0 with Newfoundland next at 7-2. Team Canada and Quebec are both 6-3.

One of those two teams would have to lose two of their three remaining games if Cotter is to have any chance of playing on the weekend.

Jim Cotter finds himself in danger of missing out on the playoffs at the Tim Hortons Brier in Calgary.

Cotter, who lost in the final in Kamloops a year ago with a rink that included current teammates Rick Sawatsky and Tyrel Griffith, lost 8-7 Wednesday to John Morris and Team Canada, the skip of last year's team.

The loss dropped Cotter and company to 3-4 and, with seven teams ahead of him with three or fewer losses, Cotter is in a position where he has to run the table and get some help in order to at least get in a tie breaker position.

Team Canada won its third straight since Morris and Pat Simmons traded places on Tuesday. Simmons made a pressure-packed runback takeout to score two in the 10th for the win.

“It was looking good, then it wasn’t,” Simmons said of the final end. “My first one, how it ended up, it was going to give us a chance at something anyways.”

Cotter tried to draw into second shot but didn’t get the curl at the end and left Simmons with a second chance at a runback for the win.

The game was tight throughout. Trailing 5-3 in the eighth, Team Canada cracked a three ender to take its first lead of the game at 6-5.

Cotter responded with a deuce in nine to pull back in front by one until the pivotal 10th.

Cotter has games left with Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario continues to lead the way with a perfect 8-0 record. Brad Gushue of Newfoundland is next at 6-2.