Win Number Eight for Howard – and Still Undefeated

“Wow, there were a million rocks in play!” said Team Canada fifth player Scott Howard after a 10-6 win over Sweden for Team Canada at the 2012 World Men’s Curling Championship in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday afternoon.

Third Wayne Middaugh and Glenn Howard in action at the 2012 World Men's Curling Championship (Photo WCF/Richard Gray)

In a game that saw multiple rocks crowding the house almost every end, Canada’s Glenn Howard (Scott’s dad), Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing and Craig Savill scored 87 percent in overall team statistics, with lead Savill posting an impressive 97 percent performance. Swedish skip Niklas Edin returned to the line-up after missing the first seven games of the tournament with a back injury, but the Swedes were unable to stop a three-game losing skid that leaves them in fifth place with a 5-4 record. With lots of rocks in play, both teams relied on run-backs, hits and taps to get into scoring position.  The first three ends saw the teams trading deuces, followed by three ends of singles. In the seventh, a pick on Edin’s last-rock draw to the four foot resulted in a hit for three, and Canada made no mistake. Sweden closed the gap in eight with two, but Team Canada answered with a solid deuce in nine and handshakes from the Swedes. “Interesting strategy by the Swedes,” noted Team Canada Coach Rick Lang afterwards. “Super aggressive, and Edin had to make some big shots to keep them in it, but I felt we were in control the whole way.” Now 8-0, Canada faces second-place Tom Brewster of Scotland (6-2) – runner-up to Jeff Stoughton in last year’s world championship – in  Draw 14 on Wednesday evening. Follow Team Canada Quick access to Team Canada’s scores and standings can be found on the Curling.ca Mobile App and Mobile Web, as well as on the Canadian Curling Association website. TSN’s exclusive live coverage includes select Team Canada draws plus the playoffs and Final – and Video On Demand for fans who missed the games live. Go to TSN.ca and follow the link for VOD.