Both Canadian entries still in the hunt at World Juniors

Both Canadian teams are still very much in playoff contention at the World Junior Curling Championships in Taarnby, Denmark. 

Canada’s Team Calan MacIsaac sits in a tie for first place after stealing an extra-end win over Team South Korea Saturday afternoon. The 8-7 decision improved the Canadian men’s record to 6-1 and moved them into a three-way tie for first place with Team Scotland and Team U.S.A. 

“It was a tough game this afternoon,” said Canadian third Owain Fisher. “The ice was a lot different from what we’ve seen. We struggled managing the ice, especially early, but managed to grab a few steals and force some errors from their skip.” 

MacIsaac, Fisher, second Nathan Gray, and lead Christopher McCurdy will finish the round robin on Sunday with games against Team Switzerland in the morning and Team U.S.A. in the evening draw. 

The top four teams will move on to the semifinals on Monday. While the situation looks good for the Canadian men at this point, nothing is guaranteed with two games to play. 

“We’re going to have to adapt quicker and better to whatever the ice is like tomorrow,” said Fisher. “We need to sharpen up and bring some calm energy against Switzerland.” 

The Canadian women’s team skipped by Edmonton’s Myla Plett, meanwhile, dropped its first game of the day to Team U.S.A. 10-3 after falling behind early. The deciding blow was a score of 5 in the seventh end, after which the Canadians conceded. 

“We faced a hot U.S.A. team this morning who made some big shots despite our pressure,” said team leader Beth Iskiw. “Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of the inch.” 

The women would recover in the evening draw, however, with a tight win over Team Germany. Plett, third Alyssa Nedohin, second Chloe Fediuk, lead Allie Iskiw, and alternate Abby Whitbread all contributed to the 8-6 final score, which was decided by an important steal in the tenth end.

As of the end of the day Saturday, Canada’s women’s team sits in a tie for fourth place with Team U.S.A. with a record of 5-3, but Canada would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker scenario. With one game to play, the last draw will have major implications. 

Canada will face Team Switzerland in a must-win affair, while Team U.S.A. will take on the current top seed, Team South Korea. Team Japan could also enter the playoff picture with a win, provided both Canada and the U.S.A. lose. Team South Korea, Team China, and Team Sweden have already locked up the top three spots. 

The women are supported by coach Dave Nedohin, assistant coach Blair Lenton, fifth player Whitbread, and team leader Iskiw. 

The men are coached by Craig Burgess, along with team leader Daryell Nowlan and alternate Nicholas Mosher. 

For scores and schedules, visit the World Curling site at: https://livescores.worldcurling.org/wjcc/aspnet/livescores?EventID=0 

Games can be streamed via paid subscription on the Curling Channel here: https://curlingchannel.tv/subscribe