A look back to the last time Sask. made the Brier final
You could argue Curling is almost just as popular as football in Saskatchewan - a province where events like the Brier are appointment television at sports bars, retail stores, and in many households.
Most know a few players on the Riders and have run around on a football field.
But in Saskatchewan, you don’t have to know a single member of Team Saskatchewan, or even step on a curling sheet, to run into people asking ‘How are we doin so far... is this finally the year?’
However, although the sport is popular, Saskatchewan has not seen much in the way of winning at the Brier.
It’s been nearly 30 years since a Saskatchewan rink even made it to a Brier final. And more than 40 years since this province won.
The last time Saskatchewan was in a Brier final, NBA Jam was a must-have for Super Nintendo, and VCRs were at their peak.
In 1995, the team skipped by Brad Heidt along with Mark Dacey, Wayne Charteris, and Dam Ormsby, gave Saskatchewan something to cheer about.
That year, the Brier was held in Halifax where heavyweights like Kevin Martin, Ed Werenich, and Kerry Burtnyk were looking for a championship.
But the Saskatchewan rink proved they belonged going 8-3 in the round-robin, securing second place.
In the playoffs, Saskatchewan would face Manitoba, skipped by Kerry Burtnyk, in a strategic battle that would go to extra ends.
That’s when Heidt would make a draw to give Saskatchewan a 6-5 win and a bye to the final.
But it seemed it was destiny for these two rinks to meet again.
Burtnyk beat Alberta’s Kevin Martin in a semi-final playoff game, to set up a rematch between Saskatchewan and Manitoba in the final.
The game was a see-saw battle that saw the game tied at three after four ends.
But Manitoba would get two in the fifth end, and steal another two in the sixth end to grab a 7-3 lead.
Heidt would make a take-out shot to score three in the seventh to pull to within one and score another two in the ninth after Burtnyk got one with the hammer, and it was all tied up at eight.
In the final end, Burtnyk had the hammer, and he used it to score two and come away with a 10-8 win over Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan came so close, but yet so far.
1995 remains the last time Saskatchewan played in a Brier championship game.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.