It was a week of experience for Team Yukon at the 2020 Brier held in Kingston, Ont., from Feb. 29 to March 8.
Team Yukon — consisting of skip Thomas Scoffin, lead Joe Wallingham, second Brett Winfield and third Trygg Jensen — finished the week with an 0-7 record, though Scoffin was quick to point out the scoreboard did not tell the entire tale.
“Things actually went quite well,” said Scoffin. “I don’t think our record is indicative of how well we played. I would say five out of the seven games we played, we were right there. We were playing really well, kind of neck-and-neck, and just a matter of a half shot here or a full shot somewhere throughout the game changed the course.”
The team lost 9-8 to New Brunswick, 9-7 to the Northwest Territories and 6-3 to British Columbia in its three closest games.
“Obviously, inexperience was a factor,” said Scoffin. “There were some little things that we were getting caught on and some of the best teams don’t make those same mistakes because they’ve been there and done that.”
While Scoffin has previous Brier experience, his other teammates did not.
“It would have been nice to get a win, especially for the boys, being their first Brier,” said Scoffin. “But at the same time, we were hanging with some of the best teams in the world and playing well against them.”
The teams other four games were conceded to Team Wild Card, Team Ontario, Team Canada and Team Saskatchewan.
Scoffin said the tournament bodes well for the team, which began playing together this season, into the future.
“Being our first year, I’m really proud of how the guys played,” said Scoffin. “They went in there with an open mind and just took things at face value and rolled with the punches. It was awesome to see how they performed being thrown into the mix with everything the Brier throws at you.”
Team Newfoundland defeated Team Alberta to win gold at this year’s tournament.
Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com