Steinbach, February 14...It wasn't easy, but defending champion Jeff Stoughton edged fellow Winnipegger Mike McEwen, 9-8 in an extra end to successfully defend his Manitoba Safeway Championship Sunday in Steinbach.

Stoughton, representing the Charleswood Curling Club, had lost to McEwen, 7-5, in the championship round, then had to defeat another former two-time Brier and one-time world champion Kerry Burtnyk, 6-4 to advance to a rematch with McEwen.

Stoughton is joined by Kevin Park at third, second Rob Fowler and lead Steve Gould.   It will be Stoughton's eighth Brier appearance.  He won the 1996 Labatt Brier in Kamloops and the 1996 Ford Worlds in Hamilton, and also captured the 1999 Brier in Edmonton, before finishing second to Scotland's Hammy McMillan at the Ford Worlds in Saint John. 

His first Brier appearance came in 1991 in Hamilton, followed by his two Brier wins in 1996 and 1999, then 2000 in Saskatoon, 2006 in Regina, 2007 in Hamilton, where he finished third after losing the semi-final to the eventual winner, Ontario's Glenn Howard, and 2009 in Calgary, when he was the runner-up, losing to Alberta's Kevin Martin in the final.

Stoughton is also a two-time (1988, 1991) Canadian Mixed champion, was runner-up to Brad Gushue at the 2005 Canadian Curling Trials and finished third to Martin at the 2009 Trials.

Park will be making his fifth Brier appearance.  He played third for Alberta's Kevin Martin in 1991, winning his Brier debut, then returned in 1992 and 1995 with Martin before last year's runner-up finish as third for Stoughton.
 
Fowler makes his third Brier appearance, after debuting in 2007, while Gould will be making his fifth Brier appearance as lead for Stoughton (1996, 2006, 2007, 2009), although he was also the alternate for Stoughton's team in 1999.

Manitoba has won a leading 26 Briers since 1927, the last by Stoughton in 1999.

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