Canada beat Norway by 8-7 to record a second win and complete a perfect opening day of the LGT World Men’s in Las Vegas.
Other winners in session two were Scotland, who beat Italy 5-4; Finland, who were 6-4 winners over Switzerland; and Germany, who defeated Netherlands 13-7.
Canada versus Norway
The game between Canada and Norway was tight all the way, with the scores level at 4-4 after six ends. In the seventh, Canada’s skip Brad Gushue just kept his shooter in play at the front of the house as he played a hit and stay, to score two points and take a 6-4 lead. In the eighth end, Norway tied the game up again when their skip Magnus Ramsfjell to the button to for two, making it a 6-6 score-line.
Gushue barely ticked off a guard in the ninth end, giving Norway a steal of one for a 7-6 lead playing the tenth end. In the final end, the Canadians forced Norway into playing a tricky angle slash, which was missed by mere millimetres, giving Canada two points for the win.
Finland versus Switzerland
Finland opened their campaign with a win against Switzerland. The Finns had a 5-3 lead as they played the ninth end, and Switzerland reduced that to 5-4 when, facing three Finnish stones already in the house, their skip Yannick Schwaller drew his final stone inside them all. After this, Finland went on to win by 6-4 without having to play their last stone of the tenth end when Switzerland missed their final shot.
Speaking later, Finnish skip Kalle Kiiskinen said, “It’s nice to be here. I had my first worlds twenty years ago, so it’s been a while. That was a good win for us, and the first game is important. The first game is difficult for everybody, so we’re really happy with the win.”
Germany versus Netherlands
Germany faced Netherlands in this session and had a 7-1 lead when they came to play the fifth end. In that end, Dutch skip Wouter Goesgens played a hit to score four points and bring his team right back into the game, at 7-4. However, in the eighth, German skip Sixten Totzek played a hit to score three points. With this shot, Germany won the game, by 13-7.
Later Totzek said, “This is the first time we’ve had a win in the first game at a big championship and it’ll make a huge difference.”
Italy versus Scotland
The fourth game of the session saw Scotland play Italy. The Scots had built up a 3-0 lead over the first four ends when, in the fifth, Italy’s skip Joel Retornaz scored two points with a hit. However, in the tenth end, with the score tied at 4-4, Scotland’s fourth player Ross Paterson hit out an Italian stone to score the one point that gave the Scots their 5-4 victory.
Session two scores: Italy 4-5 Scotland; Canada 8-7 Norway; Finland 6-4 Switzerland; Germany 13-7 Netherlands
You can engage with the World Curling Federation during the LGT World Men’s Curling Championship 2022 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Weibo and by searching the hashtag #curling #WMCC2022
