KAMLOOPS, B. Rene Robert Jersey .C. -- Within the span of a minute or two, Saskatchewan was out and Quebec was in the playoffs at the Canadian mens curling championship, and only partly because of Jean-Michel Menards 7-5 upset win over Kevin Koe of Alberta. Even with Quebecs victory, Saskatchewan skip Steve Laycock was up one with the hammer and had an open draw against three to beat New Brunswick and force Menard into a tiebreaker. Laycock was heavy with the final stone and it proved costly. "We knew that we had to win," said Laycock. "We knew it was in our control to try and get in that tiebreaker and just didnt finish that game out, a really poor last end." A complicated formula based on draws to the button was used to determine the seedings of the top three rinks. Saskatchewan finished at 6-5, tied with Newfoundland and Labradors Brad Gushue and New Brunswicks Jamie Grattan. Had Menard lost, there could have been a four-way tie for fourth place and a round of afternoon tiebreakers. Instead hell now get to play Manitobas Jeff Stoughton on Saturday in the 3-4 Page playoff game. Manitoba, Alberta and B.C.s John Morris all finished at 9-2. Menard, the 2006 champion whos making his fifth Brier appearance for Quebec, was 7-4 although he beat each of the top three teams in the round robin. "Our goal was to make it to the playoffs and there you never know whats going to happen ... if theres still some magic in our bag well try to use it," he said. Menard seemed in control throughout the game and got a boost with a three-point end in the fifth. Koe, who was solid all week, finished with a 76 per cent rating and his teammates struggled as well. Koe insisted he wasnt worried the same thing will happen when he faces Morris in the 1-2 Page playoff on Friday evening. "That end we gave up three was bad luck," said Koe. "I threw mine good, we had lots of options. You can hit about a millimetre where it just didnt work out for us and thats what happened for us. So thats just a bad break. Other than that were throwing it good so Im not really worried." Laycock was making his fourth appearance at the Tim Hortons Brier although this was the first time he threw fourth stones and served as skip. He was even with Grattan through seven, until a big three in the eighth end gave him a healthy lead. Grattan responded with a deuce in the ninth before taking the win, which left Laycock visibly upset afterwards. Prince Edward Islands Eddie MacKenzie (4-7) finished the round robin with an 11-7 win over Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories/Yukon (3-8). Ontarios Greg Balsdon (5-6) capped his Brier debut with a 9-6 win over Jamie Murphys winless Nova Scotia team (0-11). Northern Ontario was also well back at 2-9. Teemu Selanne Jersey .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. J.T. Compher Jersey . Speaking on Leafs Lunch with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan on Thursday, Bernier said it was "very hard" at times being entrenched behind Jonathan Quick and is now excited at the prospect of getting an opportunity to compete with Reimer for the top spot with the Leafs. http://www.hockeyavalanche.com/authentic-nathan-mackinnon-avalanche-jersey/ .com) - Its fair to call Mike McCarthy one of the best coaches in the NFL but its also more than objective to point out that the veteran mentor bookended the Green Bay Packers season with two, truly awful game plans in Seattle.ST. PAUL, Minn. - Nino Niederreiter snagged the puck off the boards and rushed toward the net, deftly setting up a wrist shot with a slick deke to each side. The puck whizzed past Nashville goalie Carter Huttons stick to give Minnesota an overtime victory but, before it got there, it had to elude Niederreiters good friend. Niederreiters goal with 2:44 left in the extra period lifted the Wild past the Predators 3-2 on Thursday night, and the tipped shot went between the legs of Roman Josi, who will play with Niederreiter next week for Switzerland in the Olympics. Theyll be roommates, actually. "I might mention it to him right now, but Im not sure if hell be happy about it," Niederreiter said. "At the same time, like I said, it was a big win for us and we needed those points. It felt like a playoff game out there because it was a pretty tough one." Jonas Brodin and Zach Parise scored early to offset two goals for the Predators by Craig Smith, who raised his team-leading total to 18. Hutton made 33 saves and helped thwart a Wild power play in the waning minutes of regulation, but that wasnt quite enough. All three goals Hutton gave up were to his stick side. "It was like a knuckle puck," Hutton said of Niederreiters winner. Josi was impressed by his buddy but not happy with him. "We didnt play that well in the first. We played a little slow, and they got on us quick. After that we played a good game. We obviously wanted two points, but its good to get a point on the road," Josi said. Smith tied the game midway through the second period when he redirected defenceman Victor Bartleys shot past Darcy Kuemper, who made his 12th straight start in goal for the Wild. The Predators hit the post twice in that middle frame and with another try in the third period. "A little bit of puck luck goes a long way," Kuemper said, adding: "I was just trying to do my part to battle and help the guys out because they were sure helping me out." Kuemper made 16 saves to improve to 7-3-2 since Jan. 1, and the Wild raised their home record to 21-7-2 this season. Rob Ramage Jersey. Coach Mike Yeo stressed to his players this week the danger of looking ahead to the break and not letting up against a team behind them in the standings, and their performance suggested the message was received. "I was real impressed with our guys, the way that they approached this game," Yeo said. "I asked them for a playoff-type mentality coming into the game, and thats a lot to ask for in February when youre about to go on a long break, but they brought it." Parise wasnt worried about a letup. "I think were all mature enough that we understood we have a game still before, and I dont think that was ever a concern about guys thinking about their flights tomorrow or their plans for the break," he said. The Predators had a jarring start to their day, when television announcer Pete Weber was taken for emergency heart surgery and general manager David Poile was hit by an errant puck that flew off the ice during the morning skate and hit him in the face where he was standing behind the bench. Poile was staying in a hospital overnight for observation and evaluation, the team said, and was unable to be present for the pregame ceremony the Wild held for all the Olympians in attendance for each team. Poile is the general manager for Team USA. "There was some bad stuff that happened today, but weve got to come out and find a way to get two points," Hutton said. "Good for them. We werent able to do it." The Predators are in last place in the Central Division but still within striking distance of the playoffs. "It was a good road point considering all the stuff that went on today," coach Barry Trotz said, adding: "We grind them out." NOTES: Wild D Marco Scandella sat out due to a sprained knee sustained the previous game. LW Stephane Veilleux cleared waivers and was sent to AHL affiliate Iowa. ... Smith has 20 points and 12 goals in his last 23 games. ... Niederreiter has 12 points and a plus-six rating in his last 19 games. ' ' '