Gushue secures playoff spot at Brier, remains perfect with win over Flemming

Brad Gushue (6-0) of Wild Card One defeated Nova Scotia's Paul Flemming 10-4 on Wednesday to secure a playoff spot at the Tim Hortons Brier in Lethbridge, Alta. 

Defending champion Brendan Bottcher (6-0) locked up a playoff berth earlier in the day by leading Canada past Wild Card Two's Matt Dunstone 8-7 in an extra end. 

Round-robin play continues through Thursday night with the top three teams in each pool advancing to the playoffs.

Hugs for Dad! <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamGushue?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamGushue</a> moves to 6-0!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brier2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brier2022</a> <a href="https://t.co/Tjslsfdmzk">pic.twitter.com/Tjslsfdmzk</a>

Dunstone was down one in the 10th against Bottcher on Wednesday but couldn't build the end for a game-winning deuce. A soft tap for a single forced an extra end and Bottcher wasn't threatened from there, sealing the win with a nose hit.

"That was a battle," Bottcher said. "I think it came down to [the fact] we managed the scoreboard and had hammer in the extra end. That was really the difference."

An unexpected withdrawal on the eve of Canada's Olympic trials forced Braeden Moskowy to watch from home as his team fell well short of qualification.

Citing "personal reasons" for the decision, Moskowy was replaced by Colton Lott and the foursome, skipped by Matt Dunstone, opened with five straight losses en route to a 3-5 mark. Moskowy has since returned to the lineup and helped the Wild Card Two entry to an impressive 6-1 round-robin record at the Brier.

In a surprise mid-November announcement, Team Dunstone said it was making a lineup change without providing further details on Moskowy's absence. The personal reasons cited in the