February 15....Rod MacDonald and his Charlottetown Curling Club team of third Kevin Champion, second Andrew Robinson and lead Mark O'Rourke won the Labatt Tankard Sunday in Montague, defeating clubmate John Likely, 7-6 in an extra end final.

MacDonald had finished the eight-team round robin tied for second, along with Ted MacFadyen, at 5-2, behind Likely's 6-1 first place record.   However, MacFadyen earned the nod for second place based on his round robin win.

That meant MacDonald dropped to the Page 3-4 game, where he defeated Bill Hope, 7-0.  Meanwhile, Likely edged MacFadyen, 5-4 in the Page 1-2 game, to advance to the final.  MacDonald then beat MacFadyen, 6-4 in the semi-final to qualify for the final.

It will be MacDonald's sixth Brier appearance, third as skip.  He played for brother Peter MacDonald in three other Briers, as third in 1978, then as lead in 1981 and 1996.  He skipped in 2005 in Edmonton, finishing with a 4-7 mark, and in 2006, winding up 3-8 in Regina.

It will also be the sixth Brier appearance for Champion, all as third, after competing in 2003 for skip Robert Campbell, in 2005 and 2006 for skip Rod MacDonald and in 2007 and 2008 for skip Peter Gallant.

Andrew Robinson makes his second Brier appearance, after skipping PEI in 2000 (4-7 in Saskatoon).

O'Rourke will be making his 10th Brier appearance, after playing second for Campbell in 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999, second for Peter MacDonald in 2001 and for Peter Gallant in 2007 and 2008 and as alternate for the Rod MacDonald team in 2006. 

Prince Edward Island has yet to win the Brier, since joining the competition in 1936.