CANADIANS PLAYOFF BOUND AT FISU GAMES 

BOTH OF CANADA’S TEAMS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS AT WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES 

When the last day of round-robin play began at the FISU World University Games began Monday, two things were certain. First, both the Canadian men’s and women’s teams were in a decent position to advance to the semifinal playoff round. Second, neither spot was guaranteed. 

As it played out, both teams booked their playoff tickets, even though the fans (in the arena and watching Facebook streams at home) may have been short on fingernails by the time the results were final. 

The women from the University of Alberta, skipped by Serena Gray-Withers, could have locked down their spot in the morning game, but lost 5-3 to Norway.  

“I have to tip my hat to Norway this morning,” said vice-skip Catherine Clifford. “Their skip continuously made great shots with a high degree of difficulty to put a lot of pressure on us, which ultimately did not go our way.” 

That meant the last game vs. China was for all the marbles. A Chinese victory would have created a bit of a logjam at 6-3, with China holding the beneficial tiebreaking factors. 

It didn’t come to that, however, as the Pandas (the U of A women’s mascot) played eight ends of solid curling, limiting China’s scoring chances, and running them out of rocks to secure the 6-3 win, and a playoff spot. 

“We knew our game against China was a must win to get into playoffs,” said Clifford. “But we just embraced the challenge and put together a really solid 8 ends. We’re estatic to be in the playoffs.” 

Gray-Withers, Clifford, Briana Cullen, and Zoe Cinnamon (along with coach Rob Krepps, alternate Gracelyn Richards, and team leader Helen Radford) will take on Japan in the semi on Tuesday evening.  

Japan also finished with a 7-2 record but beat Canada in the round robin to claim the No. 2 spot. Top seed South Korea will face Norway in the other semi. 

The men’s team from the University of Regina could also secure a playoff spot with a win today. A 6-3 finish would have secured third place, but the team Great Britain had other ideas, and snuck out a last-end steal. 

“We felt in control of the game the whole time,” said Canadian skip Josh Bryden. “Unfortunately, our last shot undercurled a little. Great Britain was a stronger team than their [2-7] record showed.” 

A low-scoring affair ended with a 3-2 victory for the British team, which meant that Canada’s 5-4 record would bring them back into a four-way tie for the last two spots.  

Canada and Switzerland both won 2 of their 3 head-to-head matchups in the tied group (which also included South Korea and Italy), so Canada claimed the number three spots, while the Swiss took fourth. 

“It’s nice to get into the playoffs despite the loss,” said Bryden. “We’re excited to have another crack at the U.S.A. after struggling a bit in the round-robin game. We’re trending in the right direction and have a much better handle on the ice since our last matchup.” 

The Regina Cougars – Bryden, Adam Bukurak, Carter Williamson, and Ayden Wittmire (along with bench coach Ryan Grabarczyk and head coach Jamie Schneider) – will face the United States in the semi. 

Playoff games will be streamed on FISU.tv. For results and schedules, visit: https://wugtorino2025.microplustimingservices.com/#/general-reports