By Kassia Skorzewska
Entering their only game on Monday with a 2-2 record, Canada’s curling team Gushue swept their way to a 6-3 victory over Japan.
Canada took an early 1-0 lead in the first end, with Japan tying it up at the end of the second. By the end of the third, Canada would be up 3-1, but Japan would pull within one by the end of the fourth end.
With Canada holding the hammer, and no points being scored in the fifth or sixth ends, Canada took a 5-2 lead following the seventh end. Japan took a point in the eighth end, and with the hammer once again in the ninth, Canada’s point brought the score up to 6-3.
In the tenth, they were forced to call the game early, as it got to a point where Japan would not have had the chance to score enough points to tie the game with the number of rocks left.
“I thought we played a really good game. I thought we made some big shots when we had to. We got a couple ends where we got into a little bit of trouble, but Mark (Nichols) and I made some big shots to get us out of that, and aside from two ends where we had to do that, I thought we played really well, and controlled the game. So, very similar to last night, just today we were able to just finish it off,” Brad Gushue said on the game.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, (Tuesday, April, 4), Canada will be taking the ice against the Czech Republic.
“I think it was a must win. I think we’ve been in that position for a little while now, and the next two to three games are all kind of in that boat. You don’t want to get too far behind the eight-ball knowing some of the teams we have left, so I think it was a must win, and that’s why I’m so proud of the way we came out and played, and performed, and we just got to do the same thing tomorrow,” Gushue said.
Following the game, team Canada had their Up Close and Personal slot in the Patch, where they answered questions on stage for the fans.
Questions ranged from “what’s your favourite cereal”, to “what medal win has been your most memorable?”
Team lead, Geoff Walker’s favourite cereal is cheerios.
Gushue and Nichols had the same answer for their favourite medal win.
“If I was going to rank them, I’d have to say the Brier in 2017 would probably be the one that stands out the most. For us, the amount of stress, and anxiety, and pressure we felt that week, and to overcome that, and overcoming an injury, that was a pretty incredible week,” Gushue said.
As the round robin continues through to Friday, the tournament will be a family affair, as Gushue’s daughters arrive tomorrow night, and Nichols’ sons arrive on Thursday, to cheer on their parents as they try to stay alive for the finals.
Kassia Skorzewska is a graduate of Algonquin College’s journalism program. She’s a Kitchissippi area resident and was a co-op student with Kitchissippi Times in spring 2022.