Glen Howard earns record 16th Brier berth with Ontario provincial title win

BRANTFORD, Ont. – Four-time Brier champion Glen Howard will be making his record 16th appearance at next month’s Canadian men’s curling championship after winning the Ontario provincial title on Sunday.

Howard booked his spot in the Brier with an angle double-raise take-out to score a game-winning deuce in the 10th end for a 6-5 win over Toronto’s John Epping.

Also nailing down spots in the men’s championship were 2015 bronze-medallist Steve Laycock, who won his sixth Saskatchewan crown, and Mike Kennedy, who claimed his fifth New Brunswick championship.

Laycock capped a perfect 6-0 run through the provincial championship at Kindersley, Sask., with a 6-4 win over Shaun Meachem, while Kennedy ensured his fifth Brier appearance with 9-2 triumph over Terry Odishaw in the final in Rothesay, N.B.

The field for the 2016 Brier will be completed next weekend with the B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Northern Ontario championships concluding on Sunday.