Team Canada Remains Undefeated in Basel, Switzerland

Team Canada sits at the top of the leaderboard, tied with Scotland for first place, after posting a decisive 9-2 win over Germany in Draw 3 action at the 2012 World Men’s Curling Championship presented by Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd. Scoring four points in the first end, Canada never looked back, allowing the Germans to take one in the second end, but answering with a deuce in the third and a steal of two in the fourth. The teams traded singles in the next two ends, and it was handshakes after the sixth. Sunday’s match showed a marked contrast to Canada’s first outing on Saturday against France, when skip Glenn Howard, third Wayne Middaugh, second Brent Laing and lead Craig Savill needed ten ends to earn their 7-5 win over France’s Thomas Dufour after falling behind 3-1 in the first three ends. Howard said afterwards that it felt good to get the opening game out of the way. “We got down early and we didn’t panic,” he said after that first victory. “We hung in there and got more shots than they did. We knew they were a very good team and they played well.” Against Germany, it was a completely different story, as Canada jumped out to an early lead when fourth thrower Felix Schulze barely missed a take-out with his last rock in the first end, allowing Howard to draw for four. “A half-inch miss by the German skip in the first end made all the difference,” said Team Howard coach Scott Taylor. “Outstanding play by the front end enabled us to widen the lead.” “The first end was obviously a turning point,” said Howard after the game. “If he curled half an inch, I’m playing against two, but it didn’t and all of a sudden I’m drawing for four.” “This is an exercise in patience,” added Howard about the team’s 2-0 start. “Our first goal is get to the play-offs. We’ve got eleven games in the round-robin, so we’re just taking one game at a time.” Canada faces the United States (0-2) in Draw 5 action Sunday night at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. The game can be seen on TSN at 1 p.m. ET. Follow Team Canada Quick access to Team Canada’s scores and standings can be found on the Curling.ca Mobile App  and Mobile Web, as well as on the Canadian Curling Association website. TSN’s exclusive live coverage includes select Team Canada draws plus the playoffs and Final – and Video On Demand for fans who miss the games live. Go to TSN.ca and follow the link for VOD.