Double win day for Norway at Olympic Winter Games

Norway added their second win of the day in Friday evening’s fourth men’s session when they beat Czechia 7-4 in nine ends.

Czechia had hammer in the first end, but when skip Lukas Klima’s attempt to draw was too heavy, it passed a lying Norwegian counter and they stole a single point.

A blank end in the second was followed by a draw to the button by Czechia’s Klima, levelling the score to 1-1 in the third end. Norway extended their lead in the fourth end when skip Magnus Ramsfjell played a draw to meet another one of his counters, scoring two.

Martin Sesaker, Norway © World Curling / Celine Stucki

Czechia managed to score one in the fifth with a draw from skip Klima, but Norway responded immediately in the sixth, when Ramsfjell was able to play a draw to meet one of his other stones on the button, scoring two and extending his team’s lead to 5-2.

In the seventh, Norway were lying three when Czechia’s Klima came to play his final stone, in which he played a raise tap back for a single point, reducing the score difference to 5-3.

Another two for Norway came in the eighth end when Ramsfjell played a nose-hit on a Czechia counter, bringing their lead further ahead to 7-3.

Czechia were able to score a further point in the ninth but then conceded in the tenth, handing Norway their second win of the day.

Gaute Nepstad, Norway © World Curling / Celine Stucki

Following the game, Norway skip Magnus Ramsjell said, “We’re feeling good. We had a bit of a rough game in our first one, we didn’t quite pick up on all the details on the ice and struggled with the draws but it was much better today.

This is a first Olympic appearance for this team and about this, Magnus said, “It has been a lot of fun so far. We love this kind of atmosphere, that’s when we play the best.”

This win put Norway into third place on the table, tied with Great Britain, Germany and Italy.

Magnus Ramsfjell, Norway © World Curling / Celine Stucki

Canada faced Sweden in this session in which Canada came out on top with a score of 8-6, handing Sweden their third consecutive loss.

Sweden’s skip Niklas Edin opened the scoring in the first end, playing a hit on a single lying Canadian stone to score one point.

After a blanked second end, Canada added their first points in the third when an attempted runback by Niklas Edin jammed, only removing one of two lying Canadian counters. This allowed Canada skip Brad Jacobs to draw to the button, score two, and take a 2-1 lead.

Brett Gallant, Canada © World Curling / Celine Stucki

The teams exchanged singles for the next two ends and in the sixth, Jacobs attempted to draw his stone to ensure Edin could only score one point from the end, but was heavy, allowing Sweden to score two and retake the lead.

After a blanked seventh, Edin attempted to take-out three Canada counters in the eighth, but his delivery was too thin, leaving the three still in play and counting. Jacobs drew his last stone for a big four points, bringing their lead to 7-4.

However, Sweden responded immediately in the ninth when a raise tap-back attempt from Jacobs was too wide and allowed Edin to draw for two and a 7-6 scoreline.

Brad Jacobs, Canada © World Curling / Celine Stucki

Canada went on to score another single in the final end with a draw from Jacobs, securing their 8-6 win.

Canada’s third and vice-skip Marc Jacobs reflected on a win that brings them to a 3-0 record: “It’s a great start. We’re feeling more comfortable every game, Brad [Jacobs] played great again. We had good energy, some good sweeping and Sweden are a real tough team to beat, so we’re ecstatic with that win and we’ll try to keep it rolling.”

Switzerland recorded their third victory in this session, this time with a 9-7 win over People’s Republic of China. This win sees Switzerland join Canada at the top of the table.

Team Switzerland © World Curling / Celine Stucki

In the final game of this session, Germany beat hosts Italy 6-5 in an extra-end nailbiter when German skip Marc Muskatewitz played a precise and strong hit-and-roll to score the winning point.