23 February 2024

Medal games set at World Juniors

Friday was all about semi-finals at the World Junior Curling Championships 2024. In the afternoon, the women played for spots in the gold medal game, in the evening, the men tried to qualify for the final.

Women’s semi-finals

Switzerland versus Canada

Switzerland finished on top of the round-robin rankings and met fourth-placed Canada in the semi-final.

Canada skip Myla Plett wasn’t successful with her slash double take-out attempt in the first end, and it opened the floor for the Swiss to take two. Xenia Schwaller made no mistake with her last draw and Switzerland were leading by 2-0 after one.

After three blanked ends, Canada tried to score two, but Plett was left with a very difficult tap on her last. It didn’t have enough weight and Canada gave up one. The teams went into the break by 3-0, Switzerland leading.

In the sixth end, Canada had some great stone-placement, and as Schwaller came up short with her last draw, Plett had a simple draw for two. She executed it perfectly for 3-2, Switzerland leading.

In the seventh, Schwaller made a perfect double take-out to score a single for 4-2. In the eighth, Schwaller made a magical tap to be shot stone before Canada’s last. Plett tried to still score two, but her tap didn’t have enough weight to push the Swiss stone far enough and Switzerland stole one. Switzerland 5, Canada 2 after eight.

In the ninth, Canada took a single after a perfect draw by Plett. In the last end, Schwaller took out one of the two Canadian stones in the house to give up one and win the game, 5-4.

After reaching the final, Schwaller said, “The gold medal would mean everything to us, but just to reach the final after such a hard loss last year, it means a lot.”

Talking about the semi-final, she added, “My team is so good at hitting, that’s our game, we like to play that and we were just very confident.

Talking about what made the difference in the game, she said, “Probably the two steals, Myla, she made some great shots to put me under pressure with my last, but also to get two in the first end, that was the key I think.”

Norway versus Japan

Second-placed Japan met third-ranked Norway in the other semi-final.

After the first blanked end, Japan skip Tabata Momoha made a double take-out for a single point. Japan 1, Norway 0 after two.

In the third end, Norway skip Torild Bjoernstad’s last draw against three was slightly miscommunicated and slid through the house. Japan stole three to go up, 4-0.

In the fourth end, Bjoernstad made a draw to the button against three Japanese counters for 4-1, Japan leading.

In the fifth, Norway were lying two on the four-foot when Tabata threw her last. She was slightly wide, and Japan gave up two to Norway. Japan were leading the game by 4-3 at half time.

After the sixth blanked end, Tabata was slightly heavy with her last draw attempt and Japan gave up a single.

A great angle run by Tabata resulted in two points for Japan in the eighth for a 6-4 lead.

In the ninth, Bjoernstad was left with a very difficult draw for two, she couldn’t get the stone to second position, and Norway only scored a single. In the tenth, Bjoernstad was slightly heavy with her last draw against three Japanese counters and Japan scored two from the end without needing to throw their last.

Norway 5, Japan 8 in the final result. Japan moves onto the gold medal game against Switzerland, while Norway will play for bronze medals against Canada on Saturday at 10:00 (EET).

After the game, a very happy Tabata Momoha said, “I honestly feel happy! We worked well as a team in this game.”

Looking ahead, she added, “We need to step up our game for the final!”

Men’s semi-finals

Norway versus United States

Norway finished on top of the round-robin rankings and played fourth-placed United States in the semi-final.

After a blanked first end, Norway scored two after a perfectly executed draw by skip Lukas Hoestmaelingen. In the third, United States scored two right back after a nice draw by skip Wesley Wendling, aided by some heavy sweeping.

In the fourth, two slightly unlucky multiple take-out attempts by Wendling left Norway to score three. Hoestmaelingen was perfect with his last take-out and put three on the board for Norway. They were leading the game by 5-2 after four.

In the fifth, Wendling was slightly heavy with his last draw attempt and gave up a steal of two. Norway were leading by 7-2 after five. In the sixth, Wendling made a perfect hit for two to narrow the gap to 7-4.

In the seventh, Hoestmaelingen made two perfect draws to the four-foot to score two. Norway were leading at this point by 9-4.

In the eighth, Wendling’s double take-out attempt didn’t turn out how he planned and United States gave up a single, 10-4. In the ninth, after Hoestmaelingen’s first throw – a perfect double take-out – the Americans conceded the game.

Norway are the winners of the semi-final by 10-4.

Hoestmaelingen said after the semi-final, “It feels fantastic! It’s been a while for us, two fourth-place finishes the past two World Juniors, so to get into the final is amazing. First time in a long while for Norway, so very happy with the outcome.”

Talking about the upcoming final, he added, “Definitely will try our best, but just putting on a good performance. Hope we can make our country proud.”

Italy versus Denmark

Second-placed Italy met third-placed Denmark in the other semi-final.

After a blanked first end, Italy fourth Francesco De Zanna made a precise take-out for one in the second end. In the third, Denmark fourth Jonathan Vilandt came up a bit light with his last draw to give up a single steal.

In the fourth, Vilandt made no mistake on his last take-out to score two and tie the game at 2-2.

In the fifth, De Zanna made a nose hit for two. Italy 4, Denmark 2 at the break.

In the sixth, Vilandt made a perfect tap to score a single. De Zanna’s double take-out attempt in the seventh wasn’t perfect, he took out only one Danish counter and the Danish stole a single, 4-4.

In the eighth, Vilandt was slightly light with his last, and it gave Italy the opportunity to score three. De Zanna executed the tap required for it, and Italy took the lead back, 7-4.

In the ninth, Vilandt needed to draw to the four-foot to take a single. He just did that and narrowed the gap to two points, 7-5. In the tenth, De Zanna’s perfect double take-out ran Denmark out of stones and secured Italy’s place in the gold medal final.

After their 7-5 win, Italy skip Stefano Gilli said, “I feel great! When we arrived here, we thought that we have no chance. And now we strongly believe this. I told my parents not to come because I think we have zero chance. We are so happy, we play great games and we are crazy happy!”

Talking about their preparation for the final, he added, “Now we take a big rest, meeting and we stay prepared. We are playing good curling, so I think we just need to keep going like this.”

Italy will play Norway for gold medals and the world title, while Denmark will play for bronze medals against United States on Saturday at 15:00 (EET).

Click here for all the results and the playing schedule.

For information about streaming, click here.

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