ANOTHER WIN FOR CANADA AT JR. B  

CANADA IMPROVES TO 2-1 WITH A WIN OVER KAZAKHSTAN 

Canada’s U21 men’s team took another step forward Friday, winning their only game of the day at the World Junior-B Championship in Lohja, Finland. The Alberta-based foursome took down Kazakhstan 7-2, improving their record to 2-1 in the six-game round robin. 

“This was a really played game for us,” said Adam Naugler, lead for the Canadians. “Our execution and communication was really solid.” 

 Canada blanked the first with the hammer, before taking two in the second, and stealing three in the third. A five-point lead was enough cushion for skip Johnson Tao, vice Jaedon Neuert, second Zach Davies, and Naugler to cruise to victory.  

Kazakhstan, skipped by Aidos Alliyar, scored singles in the fourth and sixth, but conceded in the eighth, down by five. 

With three games left to play, the top seeds in the pool are well within reach. The top eight teams in the 22-team event will move on to the playoffs. In Canada’s pool, Group B, Ukraine and Japan remain undefeated, each with four games left.  

“We are raising our bar each game,” said Naugler. “We’re getting more comfortable each day, and improving with every shot.” 

A top-four finish in the ‘B’ event will earn Canada a berth in ‘A’ group world championship in February. That event will be in the same venue in Lohja, Finland, where he bottom four teams will be relegated once again to the ‘B.’ 

Canada will face Japan and Austria on Saturday, before finishing their pool on Sunday vs. Poland. Quarterfinals will be played Monday morning.  

Live scoring can be found here:  
https://livescores.worldcurling.org/wjbcc/aspnet/current?EventID=1  

Some games are livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/@CurlingFinland