Dunstone shifts focus after Ontario loss, bounces back with victory over Newfoundland and Labrador

Matt Dunstone’s frustration was evident on Saturday afternoon at the Tim Hortons Brier inside the Calgary curling bubble.

The Kamloops resident took it out on a piece of equipment after his Team Saskatchewan’s 6-3 loss to skip John Epping and Team Ontario (2-1).

"Just missed opportunities on my end,” Dunstone told KTW on Sunday. “I had about three or four shots to put the game away for good. The fact of the matter is at least we’re creating those opportunities against one of the best teams in the world. If we continue to do that, I’m going to capitalize on them eventually.”

Skip Dunstone, third Braeden Moskowy, second Kirk Muyres and lead Dustin Kidby bounced back on Sunday morning, posting a comfortable 6-3 victory over Newfoundland and Labrador (Greg Smith).

“The ice kind of caught us off guard last night, so we kind of bought into it a little bit more going into today and totally believed in what the ice was giving us and went for it,” Dunstone said. “We played really well and had full control of that one.”

Saskatchewan (2-1) is preparing for a rematch of the 2020 Brier semifinal in Kingston, a 7-6 loss to eventual champion Brad Gushue and his Newfoundland and Labrador rink.

Team Canada (2-0) and Saskatchewan will square off at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

"It's going to be awesome,” Dunstone said. “Monday night at the Brier against Team Canada. It's about as good as it gets. We're going to take a lot from that Epping game, just trying to create those opportunities. That’s all you can do against the best teams in the world.”

Saskatchewan opened its tournament with a 10-2 victory over Nunavut on Friday.