MOOSE JAW -- It was a little closer at the end than Canada would have liked on Saturday night at the BKT World Men’s Curling Championship, but the crowd favourites once again found a way to win.
Canada’s Brad Jacobs built a 6-2 lead through eight ends but saw Germany’s Marc Muskatewitz rally with three in the ninth to make things close coming home before finishing things off with a 7-5 victory.
As a result, Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert are 2-0 after the opening day of competition at Temple Gardens Centre in Moose Jaw.
“It was a great day, a great start,” said Gallant, who shot 95 per cent to lead Canada against Germany. “Everybody played really well today, we got more comfortable with the ice as the day went on, the crowds were great, the energy was great and it was a lot of fun. And then to finish it off with two wins is just awesome.”
Canada never was in much trouble through the first six ends, as the teams exchanged single points the first two frame before Jacobs blanked the third and then set himself up for his first deuce and a 3-1 lead heading into the break.
Jacobs then got the force in the sixth and made it a 5-2 game with another pair in the sixth.
Things looked touch dicey for Canada in the seventh, with Germany laying a pair in the four foot on Jacobs’ last shot, but he would get the tap back and sit on the button. Marc Muskatewitz’s last shot came up thin, and Canada had the steal and 6-2 lead.
After Germany blanked the eighth, the game suddenly turned on its ear in the ninth when Jacobs wrecked on a guard with his final shot. Muskatewitz would reply with a spectacular raise and roll split that would lead to Germany getting the aforementioned three to make it a one-point game.
“With the five-rock rule, even with a four-point lead like that you’re never super comfortable,” Gallant said. “We played a pretty good end and we just haired that guard or it’s pretty much over after nine. Then he made a fantastic split to get three, and that wasn’t an easy shot. We had to play the 10th, but it’s good to be tested. We went down to the last one, and we had a lot of confidence in [Jacobs] to bounce back and make the shot in the 10th.”
Canada faced a bit of pressure in the 10th, but Jacobs would pull off a perfect angle raise to the button to score one and secure the 7-5 win.
Seeing a couple of relatively close games right off the hop was no surprise to Gallant, especially given the overall quality of the field in Moose Jaw this week.
“Every team in this championship is going to be strong,” Gallant said. “It’s deep, it’s a 12-team round robin and a long round robin, so you just have to stay sharp and try to stay consistent. There are going to be some peaks and valleys as you go on, but just stay positive and enjoy it and have some fun out there.”
Other results from Draw 2 saw China (Xu Xiaoming) score six over the final three ends to defeat Sweden (Nicklas Edin) 9-5, while the other two games ended after six ends, with Italy (Joel Retornaz) defeating Korea (Hyojun Kim) 9-2 and Scotland (Bruce Mouat) downing Austria (Mathias Genner) 12-2.
Be sure to keep an eye on for up-to-date results and standings throughout the tournament.
