SCHAFFHAUSEN — Canada’s Brad Gushue picked up two wins Tuesday at the Men’s Curling World Championship to open a busy season for the National League’s St. John’s-based team.
Gushue defeated New Zealand’s Anton Hood 7-4 in a morning draw at the IWC Arena and defeated American John Shuster 8-2 in the evening session.
It was the first of two games in four consecutive days for the Canadian side of Gushue, Mark Nichols, EJ Harnden and Jeff Walker.
Canada was in sole possession of second place with 5 wins and 1 loss, behind six-time champion Niklas Edin (Sweden) (6 wins, 0 losses), who defeated New Zealand 11-7 in an afternoon draw. The top six of the 13 teams will advance to the playoffs, with the top two seeds qualifying directly for the semifinals.
“We’re in a good spot right now, but we still have to finish. We still have six games left,” Gushue said. “If you really want one of the top two spots you probably have to win five of those six, but there are still some really good teams left.
“We’ll be working our way up to make sure we qualify for the playoffs and eventually start narrowing it down to one of the top two spots.”
After 11 draws in the round-robin match, Germany’s Mark Muskatowicz defeated Czech Republic’s Lukas Klima 6-4 to take sole third place with a 5-2 win.
Italy’s Joel Retornaz and defending champion Bruce Muat (Scotland) were both inactive during the afternoon, but Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller secured a 4-4 win with a 9-7 win over South Korea’s Jongduk Park. It became 2. America lost 4-3.
In Canada’s opener, both teams traded singles in the first four ends. Gushue took control of the game by scoring one point in the fifth end and two more in the sixth.
“Anthon made some really good shots in the second and fourth ends and took a multi-point end from us,” Gushue said. “They were both really good shots. He still had a chance in the fourth end and didn’t take them very well, but he made two great shots to close it out.”
Gushue won gold in his first appearance at the world championships in Edmonton in 2017. This was the last time Canada stood on the top of the podium at this competition.
The 2006 Olympic champion has since won three world silver medals, including last year in Ottawa. Gushue’s victory on Tuesday morning improved his overall record in world championships to 50 wins and 11 losses.
“When you hear 50 years old, it means you’ve been here a lot and you’ve won a lot,” Gushue said. “I think we did the right thing because 50 games is a lot of games. At the end of the day, we want to win on Sunday instead of focusing on 50 games today.”
In the evening, Gushue took the lead with a three-ender and pulled away with three stolen bases in the fifth end. Canada’s substitute Kyle Doering replaced Harnden in the sixth end, and the Americans singled to give up a run.
“I still have to blame myself for being here,” Doering said. “It is very fun.”
In the other late game, Japan’s Shinya Abe defeated Norway’s Magnus Ramsfell 7-4. Round-robin play will continue through Friday night, with medal games scheduled for Sunday.
Canada’s Rachel Homan won gold at the World Women’s Curling Championships in Sydney, New South Wales. It was Canada’s first title at the event since Jennifer Jones won in 2018 in North Bay, Ontario.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2024.
