In a rematch of last year's Canadian men's curling championship final, Mark Dacey and Nova Scotia scored a triple on last rock in the tenth end to post an incredible 10-9 win over Randy Ferbey and Alberta in Sunday's 2004 Brier final in Saskatoon.
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After Alberta's David Nedohin's last rock sailed past the button, Dacey scored three to win the game, denying Ferbey the chance to become the first skip to win four consecutive Canadian men's curling crowns.
Nova Scotia skip Mark Dacey (right), Bruce Lohnes, Rob Harris and Andrew Gibson pose with the Brier Tankard on Sunday. (CP Photo/Adrian Wyld)
It was a unbelievable comeback for Dacey, who is the first Brier champion from Nova Scotia since 1951, as his side trailed 8-4 before scoring three in the eighth end and the game-winning triple in the tenth.
"To come from behind like that is so unbelievable," said Dacey, a native of Saskatoon, in an interview with CBC Sports after the final.
The win was sweet revenge for Dacey who lost to Ferbey 8-4 in last year's Brier final in Halifax. By virtue of Sunday's win, Dacey will represent Canada at the world curling championship in April in Gävle, Sweden.
"The tenth end was just so well executed," explained Dacey. "I'm so proud of the guys for putting every rock in the exact, perfect place - for putting the pressure on [Alberta]. Unbelievable."
Dacey drew first blood on Sunday, hitting and sticking for one in the opening end. Down 3-2 after three ends, Alberta hit and stuck for two in the fourth, but Dacey followed that up by drawing for one in the fifth to knot the score at 4-4.
Even though the score was tied, Dacey looked nervous early on and was very lucky to be tied with Ferbey after five ends.
The Nova Scotia skip had a great chance to hit for three in the third but threw heavy and wide, settling for two. He missed another great opportunity in the fifth to take two, but missed his shot and had to settle for a single.
"If they're escaping, I'm handing them the key each time," Dacey joked with CBC Sports' Scott Russell after the fifth.
"I haven't played a very good half so far, but when you're playing the best team in the world and you're half way through and your skip is struggling and you're tied up, that's probably not bad. I can regroup and help the team in the second half. We should be OK."
Nedohin drew for three in the sixth and scored one in the seventh to stake Alberta an 8-4 advantage, but Dacey dramatically climbed back into the game in the eighth end, making a crucial shot with last rock to score a triple and cut Ferbey's lead to a single point.
Alberta made a big shot on last rock in the ninth, drawing for one to jump out to a 9-7 lead, setting the stage of Dacey's dramatic winning shot in the tenth following Nedohin's miss.
"It was unfortunate [because] we were in total control of the game," Ferbey told CBC Sports. "But give Mark and them credit, they kept coming back and back, and they never gave up."
"They executed quite well in the tenth end and there wasn't much else we could do there."
Sunday's final was the third meeting of this year's Brier between the two rinks. Nova Scotia bested Alberta 8-7 in round-robin play, ending Ferbey's 23-game Brier winning-streak. Alberta exacted a small measure of revenge, cruising to a 10-6 win in the one-two playoff game on Friday.
