Junior Men Open with a Win at World Championship

Canada’s Brendan Bottcher is off to a winning start at the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships, posting a 7-4 victory over China in the opening game of the competition. Scores and results from the 2012 World Junior Curling Championships can be obtained from the Official Website – https://wjcc2012.curlingevents.com/ laying without hammer, Team Canada – Albertans Bottcher, Evan Asmussen, Landon Bucholz and Bryce Bucholz – stole a single in the second end when the Chinese skip, Xiuyue Ma, was heavy on his final draw. In the next end, Bottcher made a perfect freeze which China was unable to remove, leading to another steal and a 2-0 lead after three. A force in five meant that Bottcher had hammer for the first time in the game, and Team Canada wasted no time taking advantage of it. The sixth end was set up with a double by Landon Bucholz followed by perfect come-arounds by third Evan Asmussen. On his last shot, Bottcher made a precise hit for 5 to go up 7-1. Keeping an eye on the scoreboard, Canada let China take a deuce in seven, taking hammer – and a 7-3 lead – into the eighth. Although the last skip rock hit and rolled out, Canada was still able to score 1 to go up 8-3.  In the ninth end, two perfect draws by Bottcher forced China to take a single point – and it was handshakes and an 8-4 victory for Canada. “It was nice to come out the first game and play well,” said Bottcher after the opening win. On Sunday, Team Canada faces a tough United States squad in the morning and the perennial favourite, Switzerland, in the evening draw.