Team Canada is off to a hot start at the BKT Tires World Men’s Curling Championships in Moose Jaw, Sask., winning their first three games.
Canada started off the week with a 7–3 win over Japan Saturday afternoon and followed it up with a 7–5 defeat of Germany that evening.
Playing just a lone game Sunday afternoon, Canada kept their winning streak alive against Korea with a relatively routine 9-3 victory.
Team Canada leads the pack, curling over 93 per cent through their first three games.
Brad Jacobs leads all skips in the field through three games, curling over 94 per cent.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this type of confidence in my teammates and myself,” Jacobs said after the win against Korea Sunday. “It is really satisfying.”
“Brad’s had a really good feel for where to put the broom,” Canadian third Marc Kennedy said. “Our skip is comfortable right now. And I think that’s probably the most important part.”
“He’s really embracing [this opportunity] and cherishing it,” he added.
Bumps in the road
Despite the perfect record so far, Canada has faced some early adversity.
Up by four against Germany in the ninth end, Jacobs ticked a guard to set up a three-point split for German skip Marc Muskatewitz.
“I missed one and let them back in it,” Jacobs told reporters Saturday night. “But great way to finish the game. Having to make a nice shot to win.”
“Hopefully we have a lot of those opportunities this week,” he added.
The Canada skip says limiting mistakes down the stretch will be important.
“The more you can limit full missed shots, the better off you’re going to be,” Jacobs said. “[And] the more control you likely have in the game.”
Second Brad Gallant has also been one of the best players so far, curling at a 91 per cent rate. Gallant sits second among seconds after draw 4.
“We’ve made a ton of good shots,” he said Saturday after the win over Germany “[That] gives us a lot of confidence.”
“You’re not going to make them all, but we made so many good ones, so many precise ones and that gives us a lot of confidence going forward,” Gallant added.
Banking wins early in the tournament could prove essential for the Canadians.
“We’ve kind of always thought, ‘let’s beat the teams that we should beat,” Kennedy said. “If we play well, we’ll try to have some really good games against the top teams.”
“Banking these wins just makes everybody feel comfortable and settled in,” the third added.
Upcoming gauntlet
Jacobs prepares now to take on the top-ranked Team Scotland, led by Bruce Mouat, Monday afternoon. Scotland is also undefeated as of Sunday evening.
“I’m not even thinking about it,” the skipper told reporters Sunday. “I know the juices are going to be flowing for both teams. That’s a game that’s highly anticipated that everybody wants to see. And we want to play in.”
Mouat has been pleased with his team’s play and looked forward to taking on what may be their toughest opponent yet.
“We’ve not had to make probably as technical shots as we will [Monday],” the Scot told CTV News. “It will be nice to kind of have those opportunities to play like really key shots.”
“Having Canada early on gives us that opportunity to learn what the ice can do when we’re playing a bit more technical stuff,” Mouat added.
Canada will then take on Sweden, the defending champion, on Tuesday.
“And then Italy, and then Switzerland, and then Norway and China,” Kennedy noted. “[Early wins] allow us to go into those big games without a worry about our record.”
“We just go out and play our asses off and see what happens,” he added.
Lead Ben Hebert says Canada remains focused on controlling what they can control.
“It’s way too early in the run to be focusing on other teams or who you’re playing,” he said. “We’re focused on ourselves and trying to get into our best form.”
“If we get into our best form, we’re going to be in a good spot,” Hebert added.
