By Justin Blackwell

Alberta’s Kevin Koe and Ontario’s Glenn Howard square off in Brier final

Mar 11, 2012 | 8:28 AM

It's Alberta and Onatrio in this year's final of the Tim Horton's Brier.

Picked as pre-tournament favourites, it's a rematch of the final two years ago in Halifax, where Kevin Koe defeated Glen Howard 6-5 in an extra end.

Koe and his Alberta rink though first had to get by Northwest Territories/Yukon and his brother Jamie in the 3 vs 4 Pager playoff game, which they did 10-6. Then Alberta had to beat Manitoba in the semi-final, which they also did, 8-6, thanks to a lucky break in the eighth end. Manitoba skip Rob Fowler's first stone, an attempted takeout, picked allowing Koe to play a split for four. Fowler then attempted a corner freeze which was a bit heavy and straight, allowing Koe an open hit for four. Fowler said the pick was a tough way to change the course of a game.

“That's a tough way to lose,” Folwer said. “I mean you go out and play your heart out and play your best game and really in a position to win the game and it just evaporates that quick on you.”

So now the tournament heavyweights go toe-to-toe.

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Koe knows it'll be a tough game, but doesn't believe he has to be perfect to win.

“If there's a game they'll (Ontario) be ancy about, it'll be the final,” Koe said. “They'll (Ontario) have some misses too, but when we played them the first game we let them off the hook and he (Howard) didn't have to make shots to beat us. We did it to ourselves. We just have to make him make the tough shots and nobody's perfect out there.”

Alberta third Pat Simmons has been battling a throat infection all week, but should be able to play in Sunday's final.

The final begins at 6:00pm at the Credit Union Centre.

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