Team Canada makes it a double at the 2023 World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship as the four-man team stumbles on the opening day at the Richmond Curling Center in Richmond, British Columbia.
Kolinda Joseph of Stitsville, Ontario, and Denise Theisen of Winnipeg, supported by coach Dana Ferguson and team captain Kyle Turcotte, defeated Denmark 8-1 in their first game before beating South Korea 9-6 on Saturday afternoon to take the lead. nine. Overall score of B group B teams 2-0. Group A has 10 teams.
Leading 4-2 in the sixth end, South Korea scored four points to take the lead in the final two ends. But in the seventh, Canada rallied with three to take a 7-6 lead.
“It was crazy. It was a really nice challenge for us tonight and we found a way to carry each other which was cool,” said Joseph.
“(The four) worried us a little bit, but you know we were only down by two after that, so you put the scoreboard in perspective with the four. We came back on the power play and played really well and got the ball. with that three, so we were really happy that we managed to fight back and put three on the scoreboard.”
Canada stole a point from South Korea’s Minkyung Cho and Taeyong in the first end when Joseph landed on a rock from the front that was buried on the button and Cho was unable to remove it. They then forced South Korea to within one in the second end. But South Korea got the ball in the second half to take a 2-1 lead. But in the fourth end, Joseph pulled the edge of the button to put the two ahead 3-2. Canada stepped it up by protecting their buried rock on the button, leading to a steal and 4-2 after five ends.
“Colinda saved me in that game,” Thiessen said. “You managed to get the perfect shots.”
In the opening match, Jozef and Tesin beat Denmark 8-1. Canada scored early and often with two goals in the first end and held the ball in the next four ends before Denmark finally got a point in the sixth end. Canada got its first win with two runs in the seventh.
“We didn’t hit a shot this morning,” Thiessen said. “We made all our shots. It was the famous Kolinda game and all I had to do was hit my shots. I felt so light this morning.”
Canada’s mixed doubles team will not play on Sunday, but will face Italy (9:00 a.m. PT) and Latvia (4:00 p.m. PT) on Monday.
Canada’s bid for the 2023 World Wheelchair Curling Championship didn’t get off to a good start, however, as the mixed doubles team lost 9-4 in overtime to China, who won their last Paralympics.
The match was tight until the last stone. John Thurston (Dunston, Ont.), who finished fourth for Canada, had to pull the button against three Chinese opponents in the third end to tie the game at 1-1. But in the fourth end, two errors by Canada allowed China, skipped by Haitao Wang, to take double play to take the lead 3-1. China made it 4-1 when Thurston’s shot from the end hit the keeper in front. He tied the four-footer for two, but it proved easy to force Canada, trailing 4-2, to fight its way to victory if it hoped to win.
They had one steal in the seventh when Wang’s double play attempt eliminated just one Canadian rock. And then Wang’s two flashes off a mostly buried Canadian rock in the eighth allowed Canada to force the extra end with another steal. But in that over, Wang recovered by ripping two high boulders that Thurston put behind cover for five points.
Said Canadian Mark Edison (London, Ontario), supported by Thurston, third Ina Forrest (Spalomchen, BC), second Gil Dash (Wolseley, SASK), fifth Mary Wright (Moose Jaw, SASK), coach Mick Lismore and team captain Kyle Buckett. . “It’s fun to play against us, it brings out the best in us.”
Ideson singled in the fourth and fifth outings as Canada fell behind 4-1, which was decisive in China’s victory.
“They make a lot of shots and make us pay for mistakes, which is great. But we’re happy with how we got back into the game and kept working until the end to get more,” Edison said. “We really like how we played today. He was such a tough opponent and if we keep playing like that all week, we’ll be there the rest of the way.”
Although China scored five goals in the extra end, Thurston forced Wang with two hard runs to secure the win.
“It was fun watching the two locks go up against each other at the end. In the last four frames (Wang) it was great falls,” Lismore said. “It’s a game you can build on. Just try to learn the conditions, learn the ice and take some momentum for the next game from that first round.”
Canada plays the Czech Republic on Saturday night and the USA (noon) and Latvia (7 p.m.) on Sunday. Denmark, South Korea, Norway, Japan and Italy also claimed their first tie wins in the 12-team round robin.
Both Canadian teams support Dr. Steven Macaluso (Physician), Sari Chatel (Physiotherapist), Erin Brennan (Mental Activity Consultant) and Wendy Morgan (Management Support).
Live results can be found on the website https://worldcurling.org/live-scores/ and results https://worldcurling.org/events/wwhcc2023?pageType=results.
Entry to watch the events live is free. The World Curling Federation will provide coverage of individual matches at the World Wheelchair Championship and the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
Watch the games live Curling channel In partnership with Recast. For games not featured, Curl BC will provide live international still camera photos YouTube channel. Canadians can watch featured games CBC Sports YouTube channel.
