Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press

LONDON, Ont. – With a vacancy on the roster ahead of the Brier’s start, Brent Laing asked former teammates if they were available to compete for Ontario.

He texted Richard Hart and Wayne Middaugh – both in their 50s – to see if they could “still slip”.

“Wayne and I were like, ‘Haha, sorry Brent, we’d like to help, but we can’t,'” Hart recalled, laughing.

This time he asked about Hart’s son, who was also in the car. Joe Hart quickly jumped at the opportunity.

“It was definitely a great moment,” said Joe. It was a bit out of the blue. I didn’t see it coming.”

Joe Hart, a Canadian junior finalist in 2017, quickly faced Laing, Ryan Fry and captain Mike McEwen at the provincial championship, helping the veteran beat Glenn Howard in the final to book his ticket to the Brier.

“Joey brings energy and the kid sure knows how to sweep,” Laing said. It’s a monster. So it’s fun and he played really well. He’s excited and he kind of excited the three of us to see the thorn bush through his eyes again. »

Ontario (2-2) will need some wins in the last three days of the tournament to continue playing in Pool B. McEwen will play Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin again Tuesday morning.

In the afternoon games, Brendan Bottcher defeated BC’s Jacques Gauthier 9-3 and Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone beat Northwest Territories’ Jamie Koe 10-4.

Canada’s Brad Gushue defeated Quebec’s Félix Asselin 8-7 and Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan scored a 6-4 win over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Nathan Young.

In the evening’s games, Northern Ontario’s Tanner Horgan went 3-1 with a 10-6 win in eight innings, while Saskatchewan’s Kelly Knapp went 2-2 with a 9-3 win over Jake Higgs’ Nunavut in eight ends.

British Columbia, represented by Jacques Gauthier, won their first game in four starts, surprising Karsten Sturmay’s team 8-5. Eventually, Gushue improved to 4-1 with an 8-6 win over Prince Edward Island’s Tyler Smith.

The playoffs begin on Friday with a view to the final on Sunday evening.