As skips of different teams, Sean Geall and Jeff Richard won their first B.C. men乌鸦传媒檚 curling titles a year apart, in 2009 and 2010.

In 2018, Geall and Richard combined forces to earn their second trip to the Brier.

With Geall calling the shots and Richard playing third, the Kelowna Curling Club foursome knocked off defending champ Jim Cotter and his Vernon-Kelowna rink 9-7 in an extra end in the final of the Sunday night in Parksville.

Geall made a spectacular in-off shot with his last rock of the game to score a deuce in the 11th end to claim the provincial title.

乌鸦传媒淚n some ways it乌鸦传媒檚 a bit of a relief to get back to doing this. It feels really good,乌鸦传媒� said Geall, 43, who grew up in West Kelowna but now lives in Abbotsford. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been awhile and you start to wonder if that time is going to happen again.

乌鸦传媒淣ow I have a small family and can乌鸦传媒檛 commit the time I used to commit, so yeah, this is a big one.乌鸦传媒�

Geall teamed up with Richard and lead Dave Harper last season, then added second Andrew Nerpin to the mix this season.

Richard is grateful to be getting a second chance to play in the Brier.

乌鸦传媒淵ou just never know if or when it乌鸦传媒檒l happen again,乌鸦传媒� said Richard, 38. 乌鸦传媒淪ean and I were both hungry to get back there. We put a lot of work and effort into this season and it paid off for us.

乌鸦传媒淪ean乌鸦传媒檚 a great skip and a great guy, and we乌鸦传媒檝e become really good friends,乌鸦传媒� added Richard. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 going to be nice to go to a Brier and compete with this group of guys.乌鸦传媒�

Harper attended his first Brier last year as the fifth-man on the John Morris-Jim Cotter rink. The 2018 Canadian men乌鸦传媒檚 curling championship will be his first ever as a player.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e been playing a long time, hoping this would happen, so to get that little purple heart feels great,乌鸦传媒� said Harper, 40, who moved to Kelowna from Edmonton five years ago. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a dream come true. You think there乌鸦传媒檚 plenty of time but then the years start going by and you realize it乌鸦传媒檚 not easy. It乌鸦传媒檚 great to finally get this.乌鸦传媒�

Nerpin, who had never before been close to winning a provincial title, said all the pieces fell into place at the right time for the Kelowna-based foursome乌鸦传媒攑articularly against the four-time defending champs.

乌鸦传媒淪ean made the shots when he had to and it worked out well for us,乌鸦传媒� said Nerpin, who is originally from Ontario. 乌鸦传媒淲e definitely had to be lights-out to beat those guys. It乌鸦传媒檚 an amazing feeling.乌鸦传媒�

Like Harper, Nerpin is excited about experiencing the atmosphere of a Brier for the first time.

乌鸦传媒淚 think the crowds will be amazing, it乌鸦传媒檚 the biggest event you can play in,乌鸦传媒� Nerpin said. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 something I乌鸦传媒檝e dreamed about since I started curling. It乌鸦传媒檚 going to be amazing to be a part of it.乌鸦传媒�

The final game was the only loss of the week for Cotter, third Catlin Schneider and his Kelowna front-end of second Tyrel Griffith and lead Rick Sawatsky.

乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 proud of the guys,乌鸦传媒� said Cotter. 乌鸦传媒淲e hung in there. Unfortunately, we had some picks in there and that didn乌鸦传媒檛 help, but that乌鸦传媒檚 the way curling goes. It didn乌鸦传媒檛 come down to that. They made a great shot to win. We were getting better each game, but we were a little off that game.乌鸦传媒�

Geall and his Kelowna rink will represent B.C. at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, March 3 to 11 in Regina.

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