Matt Dunstone never went into a major curling competition without high expectations.
But as his Winnipeg team arrived in Kelowna, British Columbia, for the 2025 Montana’s Brier , presented by AGI, the 29-year-old skip wasn’t the only one who believed his team could be the one to beat over the next nine days at Prospera Place.
Dunstone, vice-captain Colton Lott, second EJ Harnden, lead Ryan Harnden, backup Adam Kingsbury and coach Caleb Flaxey form the top-ranked team in the country, having lost only two of their last 24 games since EJ Harnden joined the lineup as a second in December.
That winning streak continued Friday night in the first draw of the Canadian men’s curling championship, as Team Manitoba-Dunstone maintained a 90 percent efficiency rate to defeat Team Kevin Koe of Alberta (Calgary) by a score of 6-2.
While there’s still plenty of work to be done over the next few days, Dunstone knows his team won’t go unnoticed in Kelowna.
“It’s hard to fly under the radar, considering the way the season’s going,” Dunstone conceded with a smile. “You know, it feels good. I mean, you’re never going to say no to being ranked No. 1 in Canada; it’s just an assessment of how the season’s going. (But) everyone knows how many good teams are out here. Brad (Gushue) has won three of those championships in a row, I think.”
“So overall, the ranking and our position are an assessment of what we’ve done so far and don’t mean much when you get to this event.”
Four of the first five ends were called, but only those watching the scoreboard but not the actual game would have found that boring. Both teams tried to generate offense, but a couple of spectacular rock climbs stifled the threats.
(Photo, Curling Canada/Michael Burns)
Team Dunstone opened the scoring with a steal in the third end when Koe’s double takeout attempt with his last rock didn’t curve far enough. Just before the fifth-end break, Dunstone could be heard on the TSN broadcast telling Lott that it was “the most exciting 1-0 game after five ends you’ll ever see.”
“I was dead serious,” Dunstone said afterward. “Look at the canceled ends—there were rocks in play in both ends. In the first end, EJ hit a double-climb to get us out of trouble. Tardi (Alberta second Tyler Tardi), he hit a double-climb to get us into trouble. There were a ton of rocks in play, it’s just that nobody could find a way to score.”
Things got more exciting for Dunstone, who lives just two hours from Kelowna in Kamloops, in the sixth inning when Koe’s four-foot field goal attempt missed the mark, resulting in a steal of two.
Koe’s team cut the deficit to one with a single in the seventh and a steal of one in the eighth, but Dunstone responded with a three-run power double in the ninth, prompting the Albertans to throw in the towel.
“Yeah, it was cool,” Dunstone said of the game-ending shot. “You know, you want the Harndens to celebrate early and often at these events to get the energy up. So I knew we had that chance, I made a bad shot on my first in the eighth end (hitting a guard to give Alberta a steal). So it was just an opportunity to get back and end a game.”
“What a great night. You know, it’s all set to be a great Brier.”
In other games Friday night, Reid Carruthers’ Manitoba team (Winnipeg) held on for a 6-5 win over Cameron deJong’s British Columbia team (Victoria); Team Canada and skip Brad Gushue (St. John’s, NL) earned a 9-2 victory over their St. John’s rivals, Ty Dilello’s Newfoundland and Labrador team; and Northern Ontario’s John Epping team (Sudbury) needed an extra end to defeat New Brunswick’s James Grattan team (Oromocto) 7-6.
Team Shane Latimer (Iqaluit) from Nunavut enjoyed a break in Group A on Friday evening.
The Montana Brier continues Saturday with sessions at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. PT.
Live scores, standings and statistics from the 2025 Montana’s Brier are available at ww1.curling.ca/results/ .
TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2025 Montana Brier. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.
For ticket information on the 20256Montana Brier, visit ww1.curling.ca/2026brier/tickets/ .
