Team Canada tied at the top

Team Canada bounced back from a disappointing 6-5 loss to Spain in the morning draw to defeat Latvia 7-4 and stay tied at the top of Group B at the World Mixed Curling Championship in Berne, Switzerland. “I made it tough on myself,” said skip Max Kirkpatrick after the win. “But my team’s curling really well. The team had a really solid game.” Against Spain, Kirkpatrick and third Jolene Campbell, second Chris Haichert, lead Teejay Haichert and coach Ron Meyers, struggled early and trailed 6-1 at the break. Canada mounted a comeback in the second half of the game, only to have it fall short, losing 6-5 on a last-rock measure. But the team regrouped and came out strong against Latvia’s Aldis Albrickis. Kirkpatrick made big shots in the second and fourth ends to score deuces, taking a 4-2 lead after four ends. Leading 6-4 after seven, Kirkpatrick had to hit and stick for one to secure the 7-4 win. “It was really important for us to get a win tonight after losing today,” he said. “We didn’t curl a very strong game this afternoon (against Spain). We got out-curled, so it was nice to come back with a win tonight for sure.” Canada remains at the top of the standings in Group B, tied with Germany and Norway with a 3-1 record. On Tuesday, Canada meets Australia (1-3) in the morning draw (2 a.m. ET) 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.