Brad Jacobs takes advantage of Italian implosion to score fourth straight victory
Patience on Team Canada’s part and a disastrous mid-game implosion by Italy handed Brad Jacobs an 8-3 win at Milano Cortina 2026 Wednesday morning. The win assured Jacobs of a second place finish in the round robin standings in men’s curling.
Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert, had some early game difficulties with rocks and weights. But after switching some stones around, Gallant and Hebert found their game about the same time that Italy, especially skip Joel Retornaz, lost its.
“It was a bit of a slow start for us, but we were battling a few stones that we didn’t love, especially the front end,” said Gallant. “And we weren’t really setting the boys up for much success. But Marc made a good comment there, I think it was maybe in the fifth end. He said ‘guys we just have to stay patient, figure this out, keep communicating’ and we did a really good job of that.”
The game went from cruise control after three ends to into the ditch by the sixth for the hometown foursome.
Italy was playing well and in good shape with a 3-2 lead and last rock until a miss by Retornaz on a routine hit-and-roll to blank the fifth end shocked both teams—more so the Italians, who had the noisy hometown fans urging them on.
While the Italians were still reeling, Jacobs and crew went aggressive in the sixth end. Key misses by second Sebastiano Arman and third Amos Mosaner allowed Canada to put four counters in the four foot, guarded, and left Retornaz to try a delicate draw to the button. He was light, wrecked on a guard and Canada stole the four and were suddenly in total control.
“Once we figured it out we started, well, the back end made some huge shots, but we got a couple of breaks, too,” said Gallant. “That missed point by Joel, we got that point to tie it up. And then some big, big back-end shots in the sixth end, that was the turning point.”
The fourth straight win assured Canada of finishing no worse than second in the 10-team round robin. The team had secured a semifinal berth a day earlier with a 9-5 win over Great Britain.
Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller remained in first place, unbeaten at 8-0 after beating Magnus Ramsfjell of Norway 10-4. Reigning world champion Bruce Mouat of Great Britain beat Daniel Casper of the United States 9-2 to keep alive his playoff hopes.
With one draw remaining on Thursday, Great Britain (5-4), Italy (4-4), Norway (4-4) and the U.S. (4-5) have still to determine which of them will grab the final two playoff spots available.
All four members of the Jacobs team have Olympic medals with three of them–Jacobs, Kennedy and Hebert–having won gold previously. Gallant, celebrating his 35th birthday Wednesday, has a bronze.
The medals, however, didn’t intimidate Italy, which has never won an Olympic men’s curling medal of any colour, in the early ends. Retornaz blanked the first end, was forced to take one in the second and stole one in the third, taking advantage of six consecutive half shots by the Canadians.
It was the first steal the Jacobs team had given up since Denmark stole a single in Canada’s second game.
Italy, needing a win to keep alive their playoff hopes, came out aggressively, putting stones in the house and forcing Canada to chase through three ends. Retornaz had Canada in difficulty again in the fourth until Kennedy, at 44 the oldest member of Team Canada at the Games, made a cross-house double to swing the end in Canada’s favour. A Jacobs draw produced the deuce.
Canada got the gift steal of one in the fifth when Retornaz missed the wide-open hit and roll to give Jacobs one and a tie at the break.
Then came the disastrous sixth for Italy and when they gave up another steal in the seventh, Retornaz and his team shook hands.
Canada will play Norway Thursday morning while Switzerland takes on Italy in two games that will determine the final two teams for Thursday evening’s semifinals.