Matt Dunstone and the rest of Team Saskatchewan are set to open the 2021 Brier in Calgary.
Saskatchewan will open pool play against Nunavut Friday night at 7:30 p.m..
Dunstone was on the SportsCage Wednesday afternoon, and said they’ve spent the last while training at the curling club in Wadena, where they were welcomed with open arms.
“Dustin Mikush reached out to me,” Dunstone said. “He lives out in Wadena and said ‘hey Matty, our club is still open and we might be able to get you guys throwing at some capacity if you’re interested,’ at that moment the light bulb kind of went on and I reached out to the boys and we figured out the logistics of it all,” Dunstone said.
The team rented a house in Wadena and would have two training sessions a day for the last two weeks.
Dunstone said while their privacy was respected, they were graciously welcomed by the community, with many even leaving food for them on their doorstep.
When Saskatchewan competes throughout the week, they’ll be advertised as curling out of the Wadena RE/MAX Curling Club.
After last year’s third place finish and reputation for making big shots, Dunstone said while every game will be different, they’ll try and have a similar approach.
“Our game plan isn’t to get to the button right away, typically let the other team get around that button first and we just continue to stack rocks around that, and then that’s how you build up that big shot to finish things off at the end.”
Saskatchewan will have it’s first tough test on Saturday, when they take on John Epping and Ontario.