CANADA ELIMINATED

Canada’s Wheelchair Curlers Knocked Out of Mixed Doubles Worlds

At the start of the day, Canada’s Wheelchair Mixed Doubles team still had a reasonable chance to make the playoffs.

They needed a win over Denmark, they needed Germany to lose to Turkey, and the U.S.A needed to beat Latvia.

Unfortunately, none of those games ended in the required result, ending Team Canada’s week at the World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Lohja, Finland.

“They represented Canada well,” said coach Dana Ferguson. “I was lucky to be coaching them, and proud to be a part of this team.”

Canada’s game with Denmark ended in heartbreak, as the Danes were able to overcome a five-point deficit in the last three ends. Trailing 6-1 after five ends, Denmark took 2 points, stole 3, and finished it off by stealing the eighth end.

At the same time, the other results didn’t go their way either. Germany beat Turkey handily, meaning Canada’s 3-5 record wasn’t going to qualify for playoffs. The U.S.A. also lost to Latvia, which moved Latvia into second place behind Norway, and dropped the Americans into the logjam (with Slovakia, Denmark, and Germany)  at 4-4.

A Canadian win, and a 4-4 record would have put them in the mix for third, where a myriad of tiebreak scenarios would have been needed. Only Germany had a better Last Shot Draw. As it played out, however, the United States had beaten all three other tied teams, so they advanced as the third team out of the B Pool.

In the A Pool, Hungary, Sweden, and Italy took the top three spots, without any need for tiebreakers. Playoffs begin Wednesday night, with a qualification round that features Italy vs. Latvia and Sweden vs. U.S.A.

Although their week is done, Canada’s Ferguson is taking a lot of good from this inaugural competition. 

“We learned a lot this week, that we’ll be able to put in action moving forward,” said Ferguson. “I love that so many countries are competing. It’s a great opportunity for so many players, from all over the world to gain experience.”

The gold medal game will be played Thursday at 16:00 local time (9:00 am EST). 

For scores and results visit: https://curlit.com/wwhMDcc/Default.aspx

For event live-stream visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/CurlingFinlandOfficial/