Midweek at The 2015 Brier: Highlights, lowlights and surprises

That there would be a dogfight for a playoff spot was expected. That there would be a dogfight for two playoff spots was not ruled out. There might even be a scrap for three spots, with only one team - Northern Ontario - looking home and cooled out as the 2015 Brier scooches past the midway point.

Brad Jacobs' team from Sault Ste. Marie is the focal point of this Brier, in more than just one way. There's their red-hot performance on the ice and also the little matter of a contact with an opponent (please don't call it "broomgate." In fact, can we all agree that it is long, long past the time where we should have decided that simply adding the suffix 'gate' to a word is lazy and not at all clever any more?).

THE HIGHLIGHTS

Jacobs, Ryan Fry, E.J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden, collectively, have so far put on a tremendous performance, getting out to an 8 and oh start, although those wins did include a Sunday besting of Kevin Koe's Alberta team, while Koe was in the midst of a wicked case of food poisoning or flu. They've dominated the teams they were supposed to, with Jacobs posting top skip's numbers after 10 draws (shooting 89%) and Fry leading the way at the third position (92%). As a team, they were tied with Alberta after 10 draws, shooting 89% overall. We'll see if they're truly rolling as they play Saskatchewan, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Team Canada to finish off their round robin schedule.

The Sociables - a passionate group of fans that show up to each Brier and dress in different costumes for each day - have really outdone themselves this year. After the traditional opening day of kilt-wearing, they've so far attended as mimes, minions (from the  Despicable Me animated movie franchise), Swedish Chefs (from The Muppets) and on Sunday, they dressed up as former Calgary Flames' captain Lanny McDonald. They're super-creative, industrious and a hell of a lot of fun. Don't know if they've ever thought of making money as professional touring super-fans for other sports, but I'm certain they could make a career out of it. Another thing: I want to sit in on their planning meetings.

THE LOWLIGHT

Jacobs and his mates are at the centre of the lowlight of the week, with Mark Kean's Ontario squad sharing in the matter. Monday night's 7-3 Northern Ontario win over Ontario was punctuated by controversy. When E.J. Harnden tapped Matt Camm's trail foot with his broom after Camm's release, the commentary on social media ran wild. Were the boys from the Soo offside in their efforts to get Camm and his teammates to stop resting knees and hands on the ice? Even though Team Jacobs offered up an explanation and - in their eyes - a clarification in a Facebook posting, they still got the gears for the broom contact. So, too, did Kean's team for all the flat spots on the playing surface that their lingering likely caused (apparently, Team Alberta had talked to them about the practice in their game the night before). The verdict? Both parties were guilty.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

Coming into The Brier, the defending champions had thought they'd put a season of struggle behind them and were ready to show the curling world that they were just fine with new skip John Morris at the tiller. But the first ever Brier version of a Team Canada struggled out of the gate, with a record of 2 and 3. That despite posting some pretty decent shooting numbers. Feeling there was no spark, Morris and third Pat Simmons decided to flip positions and voila, spark ignited. Three straight wins to get themselves in position as playoff contenders, including a big win over their former skip, Kevin Koe, as well as a key Wednesday morning victory over British Columbia.

LOGJAM

The final few draws of this year's Brier will be steeped with possibility and key matches as the standings resemble a running of the bulls. With Northern Ontario and second place Newfoundland & Labrador (6 and 2) separating a little at the top, there are still six teams with eyes on a playoff spot and two more with hopes, although they are of the flickering, fading kind (Ontario and Prince Edward Island). Who has the advantage, schedule-wise? Difficult to say, since each of the playoff contenders has a strong dose of games against other playoff contenders.

With the dust scheduled to settle at the end of the round robin on Friday morning, it's quite possible it won't have settled at all, with a whole bunch of tie-breakers needed to settle the final couple of playoff spots. Maybe even three. Newfoundland & Labrador does have a little cushion, but, they will finish their schedule with games against Alberta, Northern Ontario and Quebec; none of those are easy touches at all. 

Jamie Koe and his team have their work cut out for them in order to keep Northwest Territories from being punted into next year's qualifying tournament. At 0-7, The Territories have four games remaining, and have already lost to the team directly ahead of them in the standings, New Brunswick.