Four-time champion Koe, 2025 runner-up Dunstone off to winning starts at Brier

By Canadian Press on February 28, 2026.

ST. JOHN’S — Kevin Koe and his Alberta rink opened a tight game with a four-point seventh end in an 8-2 win over Manitoba’s Braden Calvert on Saturday to open Pool B action at the Montana’s Brier.

Koe, a four-time Canadian men’s curling champion, capped his win with a steal of one in the eighth end as the two teams shook hands early.

Koe’s team advanced to the Brier as the reigning Alberta champion, while Calvert’s squad won the Manitoba playdowns.

In other Draw 2 action, 2025 runner-up Matt Dunstone and his Manitoba squad beat New Brunswick’s Dean Grattan 5-3.

Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen scored three in both the sixth and seventh ends in an 11-5 win over Jamie Koe of the Northwest Territories, and Northern Ontario’s Sandy MacEwan stole one in the 10th end in a 9-8 victory over Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin.

Pool A was set to continue later Saturday, with defending Brier and Olympic champion Brad Jacobs and six-time Canadian men’s champion Brad Gushue scheduled to compete.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2026.

The Canadian Press

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