Experience prevails in second straight win for Team Jacobs in men’s curling
The old guys from Canada scored one for age and experience on Friday the 13th. Brad Jacobs and Team Canada, the oldest team in the men’s curling competition at Milano Cortina 2026, used all their experience and skill to prevail 6-3 against Daniel Casper and Team USA, the youngest squad in the event.
The two teams were locked in a back-and-forth, often defensive matchup until Canada stole two in the eighth end to open up a four-point lead. The U.S. team, all Olympic rookies—in contrast to every member of the Jacobs team having won at least one Olympic medal—was extremely sharp in the early going. But their shot making began to waver through the middle ends while Canada, particularly third Marc Kennedy, improved as the game progressed and the importance of every shot increased.
The win moved Jacobs, Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, 35, and lead Ben Hebert, 42, to 2-0 and the loss dropped the U.S., whose ages range from 24 to 28, to 1-1.
“I think we’re starting to get comfortable,” said Kennedy, at 44 the oldest Canadian competitor here. “That first game there’s a lot of emotion, you’re trying to get used to the ice, you’re playing a good team. I thought we adjusted well, came out today and had a good feel for the ice early. We had good energy, Brad was dialed. We couldn’t ask for a better start.
“I like the way we were really patient today. What a great shot for two Brad made in the fourth end, that changes the whole game, once he makes that. We got a miss in eight to get a big enough lead and we brought it home from there.”
Jacobs, the 2014 gold medallist, said it was important for Canada to get off to a good start in the round robin.
“When you look at our schedule, starting with Germany and USA we certainly wanted to be 2-0,” he said. “To get the job done feels great.”
Jacobs said the team is finding success and making the shots they need by focusing on the important things.
“I just think we’ve done a really good job of detaching ourselves from the results and just focusing on the things that need to be focused on in order to execute,” said the 40-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., “We’ve been saying for quite a while now, the importance of staying loose and playing free and I think what you’re seeing is us executing on that, which allows us to make a lot of shots.”
After the teams traded singles in the first two ends, a pair of superb shots by Gallant, back into the groove of four-man play after competing in the mixed doubles, allowed Canada to split the house and create an opportunity for two. But Casper followed with a pinpoint wide double and Canada switched to blank the end and hold hammer.
That move paid off in the fourth, but it took outstanding efforts for Canada to get the two they were seeking. A strong sweeping performance by Hebert and Gallant carried Jacobs’ first stone into position and then a terrific thin sideway tap of a U.S. counter by Jacobs scored the game’s first deuce.
The U.S. team had a chance to match that two in the fifth but a missed sweeping call on Casper’s first stone and then a draw by the American skip that was heavy forced them to settle for a single.
Casper’s runback triple in the sixth forced Jacobs to take one. After the U.S. blanked the seventh, two perfect draws around cover to the edge of the button forced Casper to try a desperation angled raise double. It didn’t work and Canada stole two for a comfortable 6-2 lead.
The U.S. couldn’t create any multi scoring opportunities in the ninth and after being forced to a single, shook hands.
By game’s end Canada was outshooting the Americans 88 percent to 81 with a huge gap in the skips marks. Jacobs finished at 92 percent compared to just 76 for Casper.
Canada will play defending Olympic champion and seven-time World champion Niklas Edin of Sweden in Friday’s evening draw.
Other third-draw results saw Italy (Joël Retornaz) score two in the tenth end to upset gold medal favourite Great Britain (Bruce Mouat) 9-7; Switzerland (Yannick Schwaller) defeat Czechia (Lukáš Klima) 7-3; Norway (Magnus Ramsfjell) beat China (Xu Xiaoming) 8-6 in 11 ends.