Manitoba's Carruthers snags Brier playoff spot with win over Yukon

Manitoba's Reid Carruthers clinched a playoff spot at the Canadian men's curling championship Thursday.

Carruthers, whose team is skipped by Brad Jacobs, scored five points in the second end against Yukon's Thomas Scoffin en route to a 6-4 win in the morning draw.

Carruthers, Alberta's Brendan Bottcher and Manitoba's Matt Dunstone were all 6-1 atop Pool B, with Carruthers and Bottcher squaring off in the evening draw.

Dunstone beat Northern Ontario's Trevor Bonot 8-3 to drop the latter to 5-2.

Extra-end wins over both Bonot and Ontario's Scott Howard on the Brier's third day were pivotal for Carruthers.

"Hopefully... saving our best for towards the end," Jacobs said Thursday.

"We're kind of playing boring curling right now. That's what it feels like. We're just making a lot of the basic shots.

"We're making timely opportunistic shots. It hasn't been flashy at all."

These students were so proud to show off the signs they made in class! ❤️ Give them some love for their great work!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brier2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brier2024</a> <a href="https://t.co/DUSBuBiaSG">pic.twitter.com/DUSBuBiaSG</a>

Bottcher beat B.C.'s Catlin Schneider 9-3 in the morning. Newfoundland and Labrador's Andrew Symonds downed New Brunswick's James Grattan 10-4.

Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen (6-1) had already clinched the top seed in Pool A heading into the afternoon draw.

Defending champion Brad Gushue and Prince Edward Island's Tyler Smith (5-2), Northwest Territories' Jamie Koe and Aaron Sluchinski (4-3) were the other contenders in that pool.

Jacobs skipped Northern Ontario teams at the Brier for over a decade. His teams won Canadian and world titles in 2013 and an Olympic gold medal in 2014.

Jacobs took