Quebec-Manitoba preview into the past

Quebec’s Jean-Michel Menard and Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba are about to battle in a tie-breaker at the Brier and it’s time to look at some interesting factoids about the playoffs and the two provinces.
Since the advent of the playoffs in 1980, the two provinces have only been in a handful of tie-breakers (not including regular playoff games).
Manitoba has played in four tie-breakers. In 1982, Mel Logan defeated New Brunswick’s Charlie Sullivan Sr. before losing to Al Hackner and Northern Ontario in the semifinal. In 2000, Stoughton defeated Ontario’s Peter Corner.
Vic Peters played in the other two and they happened in the same year. In 1993, after a four-way tie for top spot (back when there were only three playoff berths), the CCA put together what was essentially the forerunner to the page playoffs to determine who the three would be.
Peters, who was upset because he felt his wins against the other three teams in the round robin should ensure him a spot in the final, lost its first game to Ontario’s Russ Howard. He then played Northern Ontario’s Rick Lang in the battle of the first round losers (B.C.’s Rick Folk defeated Lang), with the winner being eliminated. Peters lost that game and he was out.
As for Quebec, it has played in two tiebreakers, both in the same year. In 1985, Quebec’s Don Aitken defeated Al Delmage of the N.W.T./Yukon before losing to Saskatchewan’s Eugene Hritzuk in the second tie-breaker.
As for head-to-head in the playoffs, Manitoba and Quebec have only met five times in the playoffs and they all happened in a four-year span.
It started with the semifinal in 1998, when Guy Hemmings of Quebec beat Dale Duguid of Manitoba. The following year, Hemmings lost twice, in the 1-2 and again in the final, to Stoughton. In 2000, Stoughton lost to Quebec’s Francois Roberge in the 3-4 game. And finally, in 2001, Manitoba’s Kerry Burtnyk defeated Hemmings in the 3-4 game.
As for personal records in the playoffs, in six previous Briers, Stoughton has made the playoffs four times and played two games in each one.
In 1996, he defeated Kevin Martin twice, in the 1-2 and the final. In 1999, it was the two wins over Hemmings.
In 2000, he won the tie-breaker before losing to Roberge. In 2007, It was a 6-3 win over Martin in the 3-4 game before losing to Ontario’s Glenn Howard 8-4 in the semifinal.
Menard has made the playoffs twice. In 2005, he lost to Nova Scotia’s Shawn Adams in the 3-4 game. In 2006, he lost to Glenn Howard in the 1-2 game, defeated Nova Scotia’s Mark Dacey 7-6 in the final and defeated Howard in the final 8-7.