1946 Macdonald Brier

Last updated
1946 Macdonald Brier
Host city Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Arena Saskatoon Arena
DatesMarch 4–7
Attendance22,000 [1]
Winner Alberta
Curling club Sedgewick CC, Sedgewick
Skip Billy Rose
Third Bartley Swelin
Second Austin Smith
Lead George Crooks
Finalist Northern Ontario
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba
«  1942
1947  »

The 1946 Macdonald Brier , the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 4 to 7, 1946 at Saskatoon Arena in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. [2] Saskatoon was supposed to host the 1943 Brier, which was cancelled due to the onset of World War II and was promised they would host the next Brier once the competition was resumed. [3] This was the first Brier in which total attendance was recorded, which came to 22,000. [1]

Contents

The event was opened by Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas. For the first time ever, games were broadcast live across the country on CBC Radio. [4] Doug Smith and Bill Good did the commentary. [5]

For the first time since the 1928 Brier, there was a three-way tie for first place after round robin play as Alberta, Manitoba, and Northern Ontario all finished with 7-2 records. Team Alberta, who was skipped by Billy Rose captured the Brier Tankard by defeating both Manitoba and Northern Ontario in the tiebreaker playoff. This was Alberta's fourth Brier championship overall.

This was the second straight Brier in which there were no extra ends. [6]

Event Summary

In the first edition of the Brier since 1942, the 1946 edition would prove to be one of the most exciting Brier finishes to date. Through six draws, there were six teams that had a shot at winning the Brier as Manitoba, Northern Ontario, and Ontario were all 5-1, Alberta and Saskatchewan were 4-2, and British Columbia stood at 3-3 with the next draw (Draw 7) featuring three matchups between those six teams. In that draw, British Columbia stayed alive with a 9-8 win over Ontario, Alberta defeated Northern Ontario 8-4, and Manitoba defeated Saskatchewan 10-8. In the eighth draw, British Columbia beat Manitoba 12-10 while Northern Ontario picked up a 10-7 win over Ontario. Alberta and Saskatchewan won their matches over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick respectively.

Heading into the final draw (Draw 9), all six teams were within one game of each other as Alberta, Manitoba, and Northern Ontario were all 6-2 and British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan were all 5-3. With British Columbia and Saskatchewan drawn against one another in the final draw, there was a possibility of a five-way tie for the Brier championship. For that scenario to take place, the British Columbia/Saskatchewan winner would need Ontario to defeat Alberta and have both Manitoba and Northern Ontario to lose. A win by any of the 6-2 teams would eliminate all five win teams from contention and would ensure at least a spot in the tiebreaker playoff or even winning the championship outright if two of the three six win teams lost.

In the end, Alberta, Manitoba, and Northern Ontario won their matches as all three teams finished round robin play with 7-2 records, necessitating a tiebreaker playoff between those three teams. This was the second time that three teams were tied after round robin play, with the first being in 1928. Unlike the previous three-way tiebreaker playoff (which was a round robin between the three tied teams), this one only featured a semifinal and final. In the ensuing draw, Northern Ontario drew the bye while Alberta and Manitoba played in the semifinal with the winner playing Northern Ontario in the final.

In the semifinal, Alberta trailed Manitoba 6-2 after the sixth end, but Alberta scored five points in the next four ends to take a 7-6 lead heading into the final two ends. Manitoba tied the game in the eleventh end but Alberta scored one in the final end to win 8-7. In the final between Alberta and Northern Ontario, Alberta held a 6-4 lead after eight ends. Northern Ontario scored one in the ninth and stole one in the tenth to tie the game at 6 with two ends remaining. Alberta scored one in the eleventh to take the lead and sealed the Brier Tankard with a steal of one in the final end for an 8-6 victory. The game started after 10pm, and lasted over four and a half hours. [5]

Teams

The teams are listed as follows: [7]

AlbertaBritish ColumbiaManitobaNew BrunswickNorthern Ontario
Sedgewick CC, Sedgewick

Skip: Billy Rose
Third: Bartley Swelin
Second: Austin Smith
Lead: George Crooks

Vancouver CC, Vancouver

Skip: Francis Avery
Third: Robert Brown
Second: Robert Henderson
Lead: Edward Wiginton

Strathcona CC, Winnipeg

Skip: Leo Johnson
Third: Harry Weremy
Second: Lincoln Johnson
Lead: William McKnight

St. Andrews CC, Saint John

Skip: Fenwick McKelvey
Third: Henry Hollies
Second: Everett MacLean
Lead: Frederick Mayes

Kirkland Lake CC, Kirkland Lake

Skip: Tom Ramsay [5]
Third: Walter Spencer
Second: Gray Coughlin
Lead: Hugh Colquhoun

Nova ScotiaOntarioPrince Edward IslandQuebecSaskatchewan
Halifax CC, Halifax

Skip: George MacIntosh
Third: John Snow
Second: Bernard Cleveland
Lead: Harold Williams

Granite CC, Kitchener

Skip: Perry Hall
Third: Bert Hall
Second: Arthur Lehnen
Lead: William Henderson Jr.

Charlottetown CC, Charlottetown

Skip: Frank Hansen
Third: Walter Picard
Second: Frank Cox
Lead: Caleb Whitlock

St. George CC, Westmount

Skip: Edward Thompson
Third: Kenneth Gebbie
Second: Benjamin Ferguson
Lead: James Patton

Nutana CC, Saskatoon

Skip: Dalton Henderson
Third: John Brower
Second: Clifford Annabel
Lead: Montague Bruns

Round-robin standings

Key
Teams to Tiebreaker playoff
ProvinceSkipWLPFPA
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba Leo Johnson 729583
Alberta Billy Rose 7210971
Northern Ontario Tom Ramsay 729764
British Columbia Francis Avery 6310670
Saskatchewan Dalton Henderson 549279
Ontario Perry Hall 549881
Quebec Edward Thompson 3686104
New Brunswick Fenwick McKelvey 276697
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia George MacIntosh 2772116
Prince Edward Island Frank Hansen 1866122

Round-robin results

Draw 1

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)13100110311012
New Brunswick (McKelvey)0001100100014
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)02020101322013
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)2020301000019
Sheet C123456789101112Final
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)10122002320417
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)0100011000306
Sheet D123456789101112Final
British Columbia (Avery)13020140410117
Quebec (Thompson)0020100200207
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Saskatchewan (Henderson)11031023040116
Ontario (Hall)00100400401010

Draw 2

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)0002100102006
Ontario (Hall)00300230102112
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)00300040220213
British Columbia (Avery)13041101000011
Sheet C123456789101112Final
Saskatchewan (Henderson)11210401103014
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)0000302002007
Sheet D123456789101112Final
New Brunswick (McKelvey)0001001010014
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)12101302012013
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)30200200202011
Quebec (Thompson)03020011020110

Draw 3

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)0010210211019
British Columbia (Avery)3102001000108
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Quebec (Thompson)00210210011210
Saskatchewan (Henderson)1100200110006
Sheet C123456789101112Final
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)33201000410014
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)00010131003110
Sheet D123456789101112Final
Ontario (Hall)30103012030316
New Brunswick (McKelvey)0103020010209
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)12040100203013
Alberta (Rose)00202001020512

Draw 4

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)20203111304118
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)0101000001003
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Quebec (Thompson)22003001110212
New Brunswick (McKelvey)0042001000108
Sheet C123456789101112Final
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)10012010103110
Saskatchewan (Henderson)0030010201007
Sheet D123456789101112Final
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)24000102011011
British Columbia (Avery)00011050200110
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Ontario (Hall)00100004004110
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)0100301002007

Draw 5

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)01111050104014
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)1000000002014
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)0110201003019
New Brunswick (McKelvey)1001010110207
Sheet C123456789101112Final
British Columbia (Avery)22411020004117
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)0000020111005
Sheet D123456789101112Final
Ontario (Hall)11301030050014
Quebec (Thompson)0001010110116
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Saskatchewan (Henderson)10110230201314
Alberta (Rose)0100100204008

Draw 6

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Saskatchewan (Henderson)13041010301115
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)0010010201005
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)33200103200115
Quebec (Thompson)0001202002007
Sheet C123456789101112Final
British Columbia (Avery)1031101200009
New Brunswick (McKelvey)0100010011015
Sheet D123456789101112Final
Ontario (Hall)10010122032012
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)0220100020018
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)01101050310012
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)2001010200219

Draw 7

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Quebec (Thompson)20302203203017
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)0101001001015
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)2101010001208
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)0010100100014
Sheet C123456789101112Final
New Brunswick (McKelvey)03012000020210
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)2010001100308
Sheet D123456789101112Final
British Columbia (Avery)2010140000109
Ontario (Hall)0100001023018
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)10201010320010
Saskatchewan (Henderson)0102010200118

Draw 8

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)00115101203317
Quebec (Thompson)4100003001009
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Saskatchewan (Henderson)10012301002010
New Brunswick (McKelvey)0110001011016
Sheet C123456789101112Final
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)03101031010010
Ontario (Hall)1001020010117
Sheet D123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)00012032023013
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)1010010020016
Sheet E123456789101112Final
British Columbia (Avery)01202201022012
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)10010030200310

Draw 9

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)02201102020010
Ontario (Hall)1002001020219
Sheet B123456789101112Final
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)01001105010110
Prince Edward Island (Hansen)1011001010106
Sheet C123456789101112Final
British Columbia (Avery)21001122111113
Saskatchewan (Henderson)0011000000002
Sheet D123456789101112Final
New Brunswick (McKelvey)20132200102013
Flag of Nova Scotia.svg  Nova Scotia (MacIntosh)0200001202018
Sheet E123456789101112Final
Northern Ontario (Ramsay)02001201023011
Quebec (Thompson)1001001040018

Playoffs

Semifinal Final
Northern Ontario 6
Alberta 8 Alberta 8
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba 7

Semifinal

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)0101001211018
Flag of Manitoba.svg  Manitoba (Johnson)1020120000107

Final

Sheet A123456789101112Final
Alberta (Rose)0102020100118
Northern Ontario (Ramsey)2000101011006

References

  1. 1 2 "EE22_BrierSouvenirProgramFinal.pdf" (PDF). Curling Canada. p. 59. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 25, 2022.
  2. 1946 MacDonald Brier - Curlingzone
  3. "Cancel Brier!". Newspapers.com. Regina Leader-Post. December 8, 1942. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  4. The Brier, by Bob Weeks, p. 52
  5. 1 2 3 Weeks, p. 53
  6. "MacDonald Brier Records". Curling Canada Stats Archive. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022.
  7. "1946 MacDonald Brier". Curling Canada Stats Archive. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021.