Another win for Canada at World Mixed

Max Kirkpatrick and his Swift Current, Sask., foursome defeated Israel’s Elana Sone 5-3 on Sunday, keeping Canada in the hunt for top spot in Group B at the 2015 World Curling Championship taking place in Berne, Switzerland. Kirkpatrick, backed by third Jolene Campbell, second Chris Haichert and lead Teejay Haichert, with coach Ron Meyers, started strong in their evening game at the Curling Bahn Allmend rink, scoring an opening deuce with hammer. Things got interesting in the second, when Jeffrey Lutz, who throws fourth for Israel, made a precision draw against six, drawing cheers from everyone, including the Canadians. After that, the Canadians controlled the scoreboard, blanking the third end and never letting Israel score more than one. Leading 5-3 after seven, Kirkpatrick ran his opponents out of rocks for the win. “He [Lutz] made some great shots there,” said Kirkpatrick after the game. “He had a draw against five one end and a draw against three and he made them perfect, so hats off to him he played really well.” After two days of competition, Canada remains undefeated and joins Germany (3-0) at the top of the standings in Group B. Pool play continues on Monday, with two games for Canada: Spain in the morning draw (2 a.m. ET) and Latvia in the afternoon (12 p.m. ET). “It’s going great,” said Kirkpatrick about the event, at which Canada is making its first appearance. “We’re being treated really well. The conditions are good, the ice is good and the people are fun, so it’s great.” Swiss Sport TV (https://www.swiss-sport.tv/) will broadcast the playoffs as well as some games from the round robin, including Canada versus Norway on Thurs. Sept. 17 at 12 p.m. (ET). This is the first time a world championship has been staged in the traditional mixed (two male, two female players) format. It replaces the European Mixed Championship that had been played for the past few seasons. A total of 36 teams, split into four pools of nine, will contest the world championship. The teams will play a round robin within their pool, with the top three teams from each pool reaching the playoffs, which begin Friday, Sept. 18. The pool winners will be seeded directly into the quarter-finals, while the second- and third-place teams will play crossover playoff games. The semifinals, along with the gold- and bronze-medal games, are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19. Results, statistics, news and photos from the World Mixed Curling Championship 2015 can be seen here on the WCF’s official event website: https://worldcurling.org/wmxcc2015.