Jacobs, Gushue secure playoff berths at Brier in St. John's

Newfoundland and Labrador's Brad Gushue and Canada's Brad Jacobs posted victories Wednesday morning to secure playoff spots at the Montana's Brier in St. John's.

Gushue walloped Prince Edward Island's Tyler Smith 12-3 and Jacobs rolled to a 10-4 win over Nova Scotia's Kendal Thompson.

Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador share the Pool A lead at 6-0.

In other early games, Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard dumped Nunavut's Derek Samagalski 16-6 and Newfoundland and Labrador's Nathan Young dropped a 10-7 decision to Saskatchewan's Kelly Knapp.

Quebec was alone in third place at 4-2 while Knapp moved into a fourth-place tie with Ontario's Jayden King at 3-3. The top three teams in each nine-team pool will qualify for the playoffs starting Friday.

Alberta's Kevin Koe (5-0) was the lone undefeated skip in Pool B entering the afternoon session at Mary Brown's Centre. Koe was followed by Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen (5-1), Manitoba's Matt Dunstone (4-1) and Manitoba's Braden Calvert (3-2).