The U.S. women finally got one on the board, while the Canadian women and surprising Chinese men remained unbeaten.
Date: 13-Feb
Sport: Curling
Event: Day 4 of group play, with two women’s session and one men’s.
How U.S. fared: The damage for the U.S. men was done in the third end. John Shuster missed two hit-and-roll attempts, letting Britain steal two points and take a 3-0 lead. The teams scored nothing but singles the rest of the way, and Britain won 5-3.
The U.S. women, idle in the morning session, finally put together the game they needed. Erika Brown pounced on a Japanese mistake in the fourth end and lined up a phalanx of rocks in the house, stealing two and leading 4-2. After trading singles, Brown scored two in the eighth to go up 7-4, kept Japan from posting a big number in the ninth, then held her nerve on an open draw in the 10th for the 8-6 win.
What happened:
Morning session (women): Unbeaten Canada took on winless Denmark, and you can guess the result. Tied 3-3 after three, Denmark could do anything with the hammer in four straight ends, giving up two steals to fall behind 5-3. Denmark finally tied it in the eighth but gave up three in the ninth, then conceded.
The other two games were tied heading into the 10th, and each team with the hammer scored one for the win. Britain moved to 2-2 with an 8-7 win over China, and Sweden handed Switzerland its first loss in a 9-8 decision.
Afternoon session (men): Denmark gave Canada a good game but needed a steal in the 10th with the game tied at 6. Danish skip Rasmus Stjerne Hansen missed the whole house with his last shot, giving Brad Jacobs the easiest possible draw. He convered for a 7-6 win, moving the Canadians up to 3-2.
Norway trailed 5-3 in the 10th and made a cheeky attempt at a nearly impossible shot. With no rocks in the house, Thomas Ulsrud needed to bump one of his guards into the rings AND somehow get his shooter in there as well. He got the bump but couldn’t quite keep the shooter. That’s Norway’s first loss, and Sweden is 4-1.
The shocker was winless Russia against one-win Switzerland. The Swiss had it locked down — up 6-4 with the hammer heading into the 10th. But Sven Michel’s hammer slid a couple of feet too far, giving Russia a steal of THREE and a 7-6 win.
Evening session (women): Switzerland had been 3-0 through three days, but after a loss in the morning session, Mirjam Ott’s rink had to come back against Canada. The Canadians stole a couple of points to lead 5-2 through six, made things interesting by conceding a steal of two in the eighth, then slammed the door by scoring three in the ninth. Final: 8-5.
South Korea put another damper on the Russian fans’ spirits with a comfortable 8-4 win over the hosts, and Denmark stayed winless by missing a tough draw in the 10th to fall 7-6 to Sweden.
Full results | Men’s standings | Women’s standings | Recaps with diagrams
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