CANADIAN JUNIORS WIN TWO

BOTH CANADIAN TEAMS POST WINS AS WORLD JUNIORS APPROACH PLAYOFF WEEKEND 

The Canadian men took a step closer to the playoffs at the World Junior Curling Championships on Friday, with a win over Scotland.  

The 9-7 victory brought the Calgary-based foursome of Kenan Wipf, Ky Macaulay, Michael Keenan, and Max Cinnamon back to an even 4-4 record and into a tie for fourth place – good enough for a playoff spot, for now. 

With two draws left to play, there are still a few permutations to consider, but a win in their last game over Japan on Saturday should be enough to solidify a top-four finish. 

The Canadians got off to a good start vs. Scotland, taking hammer with the Last Shot Draw and then immediately crowding the four-foot with red stones. A remarkable triple runback takeout from Scottish skip Orrin Carson limited the damage, but Canadian skip Wipf drew the side of the button to put three on the board. 

The Canadian advantage was short-lived, however, as Scotland fought back with three of their own in the second end and a steal of one in the third. 

Canada got back on track with another three in the fourth to take a 6-4 lead. A blank in the fifth, and a steal of one in the sixth, extended the lead to three. The teams traded deuces in the seventh and eighth, and Scotland took one more in the ninth.  

Up two with hammer was enough for Canada to finish off the Scots, putting an X on the board to end the game before the final rock was thrown. 

In the evening draw, the women’s team of Allyson MacNutt, Maria Fitzgerald, Alison Umlah, and Grace McCusker mounted a valiant comeback to defeat Latvia after trailing by five after six ends. 

A single point in the seventh, a steal of two in eighth, and a steal of one in the ninth put Canada within one point with the tenth end to play. 

“We were able to regroup after the sixth end,” said vice-skip Fitzgerald. “Feeling like we had our backs against the wall, we just gave it everything we had in the last few ends.”

A perfectly played last end led to a steal of three for Canada, leveling their record at 4-4 with a single game left vs. Norway. A playoff berth seems out of reach, however, as the best result would put them tied with Switzerland or Sweden, both of whom possess the head-to-head advantage. 

“We’re just hoping to carry this momentum forward,” said Fitzgerald. “We want to finish this round robin with another win.”

For scores and schedules, visit the World Curling site here: https://livescores.worldcurling.org/wjcc/default  

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