Saskatchewan will have a local flavour at this year’s Tim Horton’s Brier in Regina.
After missing out on a trip to the brier last year St. Gregor’s Kirk and Dallan Muyres and the rest of Team Laycock will be returning to the brier, this time on home ice.
“It means a lot. You don’t really realize a lot of the cool things you’re doing when you’re in the midst of your career but this is something we’ll look back on when we’re retired, have kids of our own to say that we went to the Brier four times in five years, that’s pretty special,” noted Kirk.
Team Laycock’s trip to the brier included facing off with an old friend as Laycock’s rink knocked off Colton Flasch’s rink in the provincial final.
Flasch served as Laycock’s second from 2012 until last spring when he announced he would be leaving the rink.
Getting back to the brier is a big deal, noted Kirk, who said missing last year served as a bit of a wake up call for Laycock’s rink.
“When you go for three years in a row you kind of just think maybe that’s the way it’s always going to be and we got a rude awakening last year obviously,” he noted.
“So this year going back into it knowing that maybe we aren’t going to win, maybe we aren’t going to go. When that last rock settled out it was pretty exciting and almost reinvigorating to know that we went through it again, worked hard and got the result we wanted.”
Of course, this year’s trip is a little more special for Laycock’s rink as they will be playing on home ice in Regina, and while none of the four curlers have any experience playing in a brier on home ice, Kirk notes he has been to three Saskatchewan brier’s watching Muenster’s Bruce Korte in 2000 and 2004 in Saskatoon, and Pat Simmons’ rink in 2006 in Regina.
“We were just kids at the time so we watched them play and saw how the Saskatchewan fans hung on every single shot. They were wooing and cheering as the rock comes down the ice so I think the atmosphere is going to be nuts and we’re going to have to do a good job of really compartmentalizing our energy levels,” noted Kirk, who said it will be important that the guys stay within their routines.
Of course, having the brier in their home province means more support from friends, family, sponsors, and the rest of the province, notes Kirk.
“It’s going to be real cool to have all the people that supported you watching you on T.V. over the years and now they’re going to be there in real life so that’s going to be nice… I think one of the really nice things is having that family and that support system right there with you and I think it will give us a jolt of energy when we’re feeling low or feeling tired.”
Kirk notes he thinks having that support system close by could be a benefit for the team when they get into the later portion of the tournament.
That support could come in handy, notes Kirk who says in addition to family it will be important for the team to spend time with the fans, which could suck some of the energy out of the guys.
“We’re going to have to make sure we have the time with the fans to make sure that they realize they are appreciated instead of maybe just running away to the hotel room between draws. So we’re going to have to save up our energy where we can but expel it in good spots.”
The brier kicks off March 3, with the championship final March 11, and Kirk says the goals for the team are to be the last team standing on March 11.
“We’re going there to win the Brier. We’ve said it before. We’ve played all the teams there, we’ve beaten all the teams there. We’ve now got some really good experience on our side, we know what to expect going into a Brier,” he said.
“Saskatchewan hasn’t won it in 38 years. We’re going there with one goal and that’s to win it and I think if we play good, and stick to our processes we’ll have a good chance to do it. Obviously there’s a lot of other teams that are going
to play good too but if we get some of the right luck throughout the week I think we’ll be there at the end of the week and hopefully we’ll come home Brier champions.”
The brier will be another family affair for the Muyres’ as Kirk and Dallan’s father Lyle will also be attending the brier as he serves as the coach for Team Laycock.
