Homan and Jacobs Advance as Gushue Exits Canadian Trials

Summary:

• Rachel Homan clinched first place at Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials, moving straight to the women’s final.
• Brad Jacobs topped the men’s field and knocked out Brad Gushue after a missed final shot.
• Matt Dunstone and Mike McEwen are set for the men’s semifinal, while Kerri Einarson will meet Chirstina Black on the women’s side.

Rachel Homan is just one win away from securing another major title after locking up a spot in the women’s final at the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials. On the men’s side, Brad Jacobs earned the same advantage earlier in the day. 

Homan: “It’s a Big Game for Us” 

The 36-year-old edged Kerri Einarson 7–6 on Wednesday at the end of a tight game that also settled the race for first place in the round robin. Both teams finished 6–1, but Homan’s head-to-head victory gave her the direct path to the best-of-three final.

Homan said afterward,

That was our goal at the beginning of the week. The field is so tough that we needed everything today to make it to that final and I’m really proud of the girls for battling through. (It’s) huge. There’s no other way to say it. It’s a big game for us to get into the final and get a bit of rest (Thursday), get on the ice for a bit and then more of the same looking forward to the weekend.

Jacobs Defeated Dunstone 6-2

The 40-year-old curling star beat Matt Dunstone 6–2 to finish at the top of the standings, then wrapped up his round robin with another win that knocked out Brad Gushue. 

Jacobs closed out a 6–3 result, but the biggest moment came in the 10th end when Gushue missed a shot that could have scored three and forced the extra end. Instead, the loss ended his playoff hopes in what is his final competitive season.

They can be lethal, he can be lethal, and he’s been that way the majority of the last 10 years, a lot in his career. Anytime you have an opportunity to eliminate a great team like that, you’ve got to take advantage of that opportunity. We played great tonight, we had a really great day, I think this was our best day that we’ve had as a team in terms of performance and executing. That bodes well moving into the finals.

Dunstone finished tied with Gushue at 4–3 but advanced thanks to his earlier win over him. He’ll play Saskatoon’s Mike McEwen in Thursday’s semifinal. McEwen is back in the playoff mix for the first time since 2017 and said he’s been feeling better every game.

Einarson, meanwhile, moves into the women’s semifinal, where she’ll meet local favourite Christina Black. The latter earned her spot in dramatic fashion, scoring three in the 10th end to beat Kate Cameron 10–6. She also spoke emotionally about Colleen Jones, who died this week, saying a “new curling god” was helping her along.

This weekends winners will go on to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina.