February 18…Chad Cowan of Whitehorse defeated clubmate Jon Solberg, 9-8 in a sudden-death extra final  Sunday night on his home turf to earn his third trip to the Canadian men’s curling championship.

Three teams (of the four competing) - Cowan, Solberg and Steve Moss of Yellowknife - had finished the double round robin tied with 4-2 marks, necessitating a tiebreaker before the final.

Cowan was the first seed in ranking procedures and therefore awaited the winner of the Solberg-Moss match, when went to Solberg, 6-3.

In the final, a five-spot in the seventh end by Cowan allowed his team to take a 7-4 lead, but Solberg responded with three in the eighth, then stole one in the ninth for an 8-7 lead of his own.

But Cowan hung tough, taking one in the 10th end to force an extra, then stealing one in the 11th to grab his ticket to Winnipeg for the Tim Hortons Brier, March 8-16.

Cowan is joined by his Whitehorse Curling Club teammates Wade Scoffin, James Buyck and Clint Ireland.

Cowan will be making his third Brier appearance, after skipping n 2000 (3-8 in Saskatoon) and 2003 (3-8 in Halifax).  Scoffin makes a second appearance, after playing third for Solberg in 2002 (3-8 in Calgary).

Buyck played second for Cowan in 2003, while lead Ireland makes his Brier debut.

The Yukon/Northwest Territories has yet to win the Brier since joining the competition in 1975, when, ironically, it enjoyed its best finish ever, a tie for second with an 8-3 mark.

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