Lott leading new contender with first-year squad

TANNER Lott’s childhood dream of qualifying for the Brier almost came true the last time the Manitoba men’s curling provincials took place in Selkirk.

It was in 2022 when he was playing second for his younger brother Colton Lott and they owned a perfect record heading into championship Sunday.

They took down Mike McEwen 8-7 in the 1 vs. 2 playoff game, but when the two sides met again in the final, the brothers from Winnipeg Beach didn’t have their A-game.

The veteran McEwen, who skipped a rink featuring Reid Carruthers, Derek Samagalski and Colin Hodgson, prevailed 8-3 to earn the right to wear the buffalo jackets.

“It was clear to me that Team Lott was the best team this week,” admitted Hodgson at the time.

Four years later, those kind words still don’t make the loss sting any less.

“It was heartbreaking. We played unbelievable all the way into the final,” said Tanner, who now lives in Selkirk.

“As a team, we couldn’t miss. And we were really good in the first half of that final and then in one end, the wheels came off. It was tough, but it was a great week.”

That off-season Colton was recruited by Matt Dunstone and they’ve been teammates since. Last year, Tanner was back on a provincial contender, only this time it was a three-man unit that was thrown together at the last minute featuring Jacques Gauthier and Samagalski. They made it to the playoff round before losses to Carruthers and Sean Grassie ended their run.

This week, Tanner is skipping a new contender that has burst onto the scene with third Riley Smith, second Adam Flatt, lead Sean Flatt and alternate Justin Twiss out of Fort Rouge. The first-year squad is the No. 5 seed in Selkirk after qualifying in six of their seven events in the Keystone Province this season, including a tournament win at the MCT Shootout in Virden in November.

“I’ve played this sport for so long and have put in so much time and effort. To represent your province is all I could ever dream of doing,” said Tanner, 33. “It means a lot to me to (compete with this team). The guys are playing their best and we’ve just got to find a way.”

The Flatt brothers also made a ton of noise in ’22 while playing with 21-year-old skip Ryan Wiebe. Despite being one of the youngest teams in the field, they came out of nowhere and took down defending champ Jason Gunnlaugson twice on their way to a third-place finish.

“It was obviously a very special run. It was our first time getting deep into this event and it was even more special considering we didn’t necessarily achieve the junior goals we wanted to,” said Sean Flatt.

After nearly a decade of playing with the Flatt brothers, Wiebe signed on to play third out of Ontario for Sam Mooibroek. The Flatts then joined forces with Smith — a 2011 Manitoba junior champion who skipped his previous team to a memorable upset over Brad Jacobs at the 2024 provincials in Stonewall — before a call was made to recruit Tanner.

“Our team had been together for a very long time,” said Sean. “It was one of those things where it was kind of a natural ending point for the team and I think everyone was ready for a fresh start. It’s been exciting to try something new.”

They don’t share a uniform anymore, but Tanner hopes he can still share the ice at this year’s Brier (Feb. 27–March 8 in St. John’s, N.L.) with his sibling. Colton and Team Dunstone have pre-qualified owing to their place in the Canadian Team Ranking System.

“Life’s different now. I have a family and he’s busy and always gone,” said Tanner. “But growing up, we played and pushed each other a lot. We’d throw rocks every day of the week. We’d probably throw 200 rocks each on a Saturday and play 18 ends of curling against each other.”

Bracket watch

The favourites are faring well in Selkirk.

The top four seeds remain undefeated and have all punched their tickets to this morning’s ‘A’ qualifier games.

No. 1 seed Reid Carruthers (Granite) will meet fourth-ranked Brett Walter (Assiniboine), and No. 2 seed Jordon McDonald (Assiniboine) squares off with third-ranked Braden Calvert (Heather). The teams that prevail will be one win away from claiming a spot in Saturday night’s Page 1 vs. 2 game.

They’ve all made it look relatively easy outside of Carruthers. The reigning back-to-back champion needed an extra end to get past Andrew Wickman on Wednesday, and then needed a draw to the four-foot on his last rock against Jace Freeman (Virden) — who is fresh out of the junior ranks — to escape with a 6-5 victory on Thursday.

Walter improved to 2-0 after a big 11-6 win over Lott (Fort Rouge) in the afternoon, McDonald handled business in an 8-4 win over Kelly Marnoch (Carberry), and Calvert is cruising as he’s outscored his two opponents by a combined score of 22-2.

The 24-team field also said its first goodbyes on Thursday. Cory Naharnie (Granite CC), Stefan Gudmundson (Steinbach) and Ryan Hyde (Portage) were all sent home after a third loss. The loser of Brett Moxham (Portage) and Cale Dunbar (Brandon) in the C-event late Thursday was also eliminated.

winnipegfreepress.com/taylorallen