Canada was going for the win… but there were other options too.
In the gold-medal final of the Booster Juice World Junior Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Edmonton, the last shot from Canada’s Brooklyn Ideson just missed the mark and allowed Japan’s Yuina Miura and Kaito Fujii to steal the 6-5 win, and the world title.
Ideson and Owen Henry (playing out of Ilderton, Ont.) had a potentially easier shot to allow a steal of one – which would force and extra end – but they took on the riskier angle runback, knowing that there were some alternative ways to get results.
“We all liked the angle runback on my last,” said Ideson. “There were more ways to miss it and still have a decent outcome, unfortunately we just didn’t get one that worked out for us.
“I had the upmost faith that Brooklyn was going to be close on that runner,” said Henry. “We knew the spot well from last night. We thought that giving up a steal of 1 was a likely outcome with the runner as well – but it had the opportunity to win the game right there.”
When the attempt over-curled slightly, the contacted stone failed to connect with the shot stone in the four-foot, the Canadians gave up a steal of two and were forced to settle for a silver medal.
“I’m honestly so proud to be part of this team,” said Ideson, daughter of coach and four-time Paralympic medallist Mark Ideson. “If there’s one thing my dad has taught me throughout his curling journey it’s that you wear your medal with pride no matter the colour.”
Prior to the final, Ideson and Henry won all eight of their games, going undefeated through pool play and two playoff games. The last-shot loss to Japan seems like it came out of nowhere.
“We definitely controlled the game most of the way,” said Henry. “Giving up a steal in the 7th end shifted the momentum a bit in their favour, and then some mistakes on my three shots in the eighth were the difference to really swing the momentum. Unfortunately, it was the worst time for them to take control… but such is life sometimes.”
“The momentum can change so quickly in mixed doubles,” said Ideson. “And it really was just a couple of unfortunate angles in the 8th that got us.”
Earlier in the day, Canada took on Denmark in the semifinal. In another back-and-forth game, the score was tied when Ideson had to make a tough hit and roll with her last shot of the game to secure the 5-4 win, and a guaranteed medal.
“We knew as long as we hit the low side the angle was probably going to end up pretty good for us, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Ideson. “It was a super exciting way to guarantee a medal and we were so proud to be able to do that for Canada.”
Canada was supported by coach Mark Ideson, and team leader Laura Walker.
“This experience has been amazing!” said Ideson. “I’m so proud to bring back some hardware and hope we gave all the fans at home some great entertainment all week.”
“Putting on the maple leaf is an honour,” said Henry. “I hope we made the entire country proud with our play this week!”
