Brad Jacobs added another weapon to his curling team's arsenal and used it to gain an express ticket to the Canadian men's curling championship final.
His Northern Ontario team is known for big-weight throws that clear the house. But Jacobs used some soft offence to beat Brad Gushue of Newfoundland and Labrador 7-5 in Friday's playoff game between the top two seeds.
Two finesse taps — one to score three in the fifth end and another to score two in the ninth — were the difference.
"I felt this year I was struggling with those types of shots, the soft-weight tap, the draws," Jacobs said. "It's literally all I've been working on since 2015 started. It paid off."
Jacobs, third Ryan Fry, and the front end of E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden will play for their second Canadian title in three years Sunday.
They claimed Northern Ontario's first title in 28 years when they won two years ago in Edmonton. They didn't participate in last year's Tim Hortons Brier because they represented Canada at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and won gold there.
Jacobs went 10-1 in the round robin in Calgary to claim the top seed ahead of Gushue at 9-2.
Gushue dropped to Saturday's semifinal to face the winner of Saturday's other playoff between Saskatchewan's Steve Laycock and Team Canada's John Morris. The semifinal winner faces Jacobs on Sunday.
"We worked hard all week and had that goal of getting to the one-two game so you have two cracks at it. I didn't want to use the second crack, but we're in that position now," said Gushue. "We played pretty well today.
"I think we're in good shape. I'd love to get another crack at them that's for sure."
Up two points coming home without hammer, Northern Ontario's hitting prowess made it difficult for Newfoundland to set up to score two to tie it.
A double takeout by Jacobs on his final throw ran Gushue out of rocks in front of an announced 9,373 at Scotiabank Saddledome.
"You've got to be careful where you put your rocks against us when we're playing really well," Jacobs said.
With Gushue's last stone on the button and covered by a guard in the ninth end, Jacobs gently tapped it aside to score two for the 7-5 lead.
Trailing 3-1, a missed freeze by Gushue in the fifth end set Jacobs up for a delicate tap for three and a 4-3 lead. Northern Ontario has a reputation for bursts of emotion after pivotal shots.
They'd been coldly efficient during the tournament, but that shot had them pumping their fists and shaking their brooms.
"I think we were all waiting to kind of explode this week," Jacobs said. "We've been playing so well this week that I haven't really had any tough shots to be honest with you for points.
"We finally had a tough one and we needed it because our spirits were a little low and that picked us right back up."
As the top seed, Jacobs started the game with hammer and ended up drawing against five Newfoundland counters just to get his one.
"That's one heck of a curling game," the Northern Ontario skip said. "If you're sitting at home watching it on TV or here in the building, you got your money's worth."
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