16 draws of action-packed curling have solved… nothing in Nisku, Alta.
Well, not exactly nothing, but definitely not everything either.
Friday was set up for playoff drama all day with must-win games across each draw, and it certainly delivered. Only problem, though? Too many teams delivered with their backs against the wall, giving us four (FOUR!) tiebreakers on Saturday morning.
Draw 13
Dropkin 6, Whyte 5 (SO)
Ha 7, Skrlik 3
Tabata 9, Black 7
Hoesli 6, Kleiter 4
Draw 14
Gim 9, Kim 5
Edin 5, Y. Schwaller 4 (SO)
McEwen 9, Carruthers 3
X. Schwaller 6, Constantini 5
Draw 15
Epping 6, Waddell 4
Hasselborg 6, Einarson 5 (SO)
Tirinzoni 8, Fujisawa 3
Muskatewitz 4, Koe 1
Draw 16
Wrana 9, Lawes 5
Homan 7, Yoshimura 4
Gushue 9, Dunstone 5
Retornaz 5, Mouat 3
Playoff bracket not fully set yet
For the women’s side, the tiebreakers will see Japan’s Team Momoha Tabata face Sweden’s Team Isabella Wrana and Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa will face Korea’s Team Eun-ji Gim.
While on the Men’s side, Canada’s Team Brad Gushue will take on fellow countryman Mike McEwen and Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz will take on Scotland’s Team Kyle Waddell.
Friday’s match between Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg vs. Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson should be nominated for best picture.
With Hasselborg already in the playoffs, a win would only help her seeding heading into the weekend. On the other hand, Einarson needed at least one point from the match to clinch a playoff spot.
That one point, however, wasn’t going to come easy, as Hasselborg came out strong. She played the first two ends really well and left Einarson with basically nothing to shoot at with her last stones, earning two steals to go up 2-0 after the second end.
After Einarson blanked the third end, she carried the hammer for the fourth straight end and finally got her deuce to even the game at the break.
The teams traded two points each in the fifth and sixth ends, but in the seventh end, Hasselborg made a bold strategy call.
Hasselborg was facing one in the top eight foot with her last and instead of just drawing to the button for the lead, she chose to throw the rock away. This gave Einarson the lead and Hasselborg kept the hammer heading to the final end.
That one point Einarson needed was beginning to look impossible, especially when she stepped into the hack with her final shot of the eighth end facing two, and needed to make both go away if she wanted to clinch a playoff spot.
She came through in the clutch, making the double and Hasselborg could only draw for her single point as the two teams headed for a shootout.
Hasselborg would come away with the win, but for Einarson, she didn’t care, as she still clinched a playoff spot with a crazy final shot.
Of course the match-of-the-day produced the best shot!
Hasselborg’s second, Anges Knochenhauer, attempted a difficult double peel in the seventh end, just trying to get the middle opened up as Einarson was putting together a scary end, as she looked to steal multiple points.
What Knochenhauer and everyone else didn’t know, she would do better than just a hard double peel.
Instead, she made a double peel runback and eliminated Einarson’s dangerous rock sitting in the four foot. Although Einarson got a steal based on a strategy decision by Hasselborg, Knochenhauer’s shot changed the outlook of the entire end.
Canada’s Team Reid Carruthers had a chance to punch his ticket to the playoffs with a win and, at the same time, eliminate Canada’s Team Mike McEwen.
After one end, Carruthers looked solid as he and his team were making shots, including a nice double for a single point. From there, however, everything blew up for Carruthers and his squad.
Carruthers elected not to hit a couple times in the second end, which led to McEwen sitting four before Carruthers threw his final stone. Needing to get rid of at least something, Carruthers did the worst possible thing.
He wrecked on the guard out front as the stone overcurled.
McEwen had an easy draw for a rare five-ender and made no mistake.
For Carruthers, things just continued to spiral as he missed his final shot again in the fourth end, and with McEwen already sitting three, opened the door once again for another massive end where he would give up four points.
Carruthers ended the misery after just five ends.
Compete and effort will carry anyone a long way.
If there was one bright spot in the Carruthers loss to McEwen, it was the sweep he got from his front in the third end.
It could have been very easy for Connor Njegovan and Catlin Schneider to pack it in and not give their best effort sweeping after giving up a five-ender in the second end, but the guys stayed with it.
And they needed to, as Carruthers faced a potential steal of at least three in the next end and needed the full eight foot with his last stone to get a single point.
From the second Carruthers let go of the rock, Njegovan knew he needed to go, shortly after Schneider joined him as the rock looked to be light. With the two sweeping until the very end, they were able to get it in there for shot stone, getting the much-needed end point.
Maybe all Brad Gushue needed was to play in a must-win game to make the playoffs against Matt Dunstone, as for the first time all season, Gushue looked like the six-time Brier champion.
Now, was Gushue perfect? No, but he didn’t need to be. He just needed to be better than the best men’s curler in all of Canada right now.
Gushue made the timely shots, including a tap-back on his own stone in the fourth end to score two points, giving him a two-point lead at the break.
But the real difference for Gushue happened in the seventh end. He was tied with the hammer and in control of the game, a situation he’s surprisingly struggled in most of the season.
This time, though, he was determined not to let that happen as he called a smart end that set him up for a big finish.
Dunstone made a hit with his last stone, but didn’t get the roll he wanted, and left Gushue an opportunity for four points. It wasn’t the easiest shot for a four-ender, but nevertheless, Gushue delivered a straight-up-and-down shot to secure the four points and the win.
Playoff coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ on Saturday.
