OTTAWA — After an uneven opening weekend at the world men’s curling championship, Brad Gushue’s Canadian team delivered a vintage performance at an ideal time.
Gushue and vice Mark Nichols displayed their shotmaking mettle Monday and the front end of Geoff Walker and E.J. Harnden also delivered in a 6-3 win over a plucky Japanese side at TD Place.
“I think it was a must-win and I think we’re in that position for a little while now,” Gushue said. “The next probably two or three games I think are all in that boat.
“You don’t want to get too far behind the 8-ball knowing some of the teams that we have left.”
Canada (3-2) avoided falling below the .500 mark and remained in the top six — right at the playoff cutline — in the 13-team field after seven sessions.
Gushue’s St. John’s, N.L.-based side struggled mightily in an opening loss to Switzerland on Saturday before rebounding with a win over Italy. Another split followed Sunday with a win over New Zealand and loss to Norway.
The so-so start to the nine-day competition has put some added pressure on the host side. Gushue wasn’t fazed as he prevented a big score in the second end by freezing against three to force Japan to a single.
“To make it as perfect as we did was definitely a confidence boost,” he said.
A tap for two in the third end gave Canada a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Another pair was tacked on in the seventh and a couple of highlight-reel shots came in the eighth to essentially ice it.
Nichols wowed the partisan crowd with a triple-takeout to sit four and Gushue followed with a double that set up a force.
“Two good end-saving shots because we got ourselves into a bit of trouble that end with some of our rock positioning early on,” Gushue said.
Canada ran Japan out of rocks in the 10th. Five of the eight players — including both skips — shot over 90 per cent.
The 16th-ranked Japanese side — which includes 16-year-old Takeru Yamamoto at second — has risen exponentially up the rankings after winning four titles this season.
Vice Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi is the only player on the team with world men’s championship and Olympic experience.
“What I’m happy about is they’re playing well,” said coach Bob Ursel. “We weren’t too concerned about the wins and losses, we really wanted to get some experience and play well and that’s what’s happened.”
Entering the evening draw, Japan (3-1) was in a third-place tie with Scotland’s Bruce Mouat and Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller.
Reigning world and Olympic champion Niklas Edin of Sweden won both of his games Monday to improve to 5-0. Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell is also unbeaten at 4-0.
Italy’s Joel Retornaz was alone in seventh place at 2-2. Round-robin play continues through Friday night and medal games are scheduled for Sunday.
Canada will next play Lukas Klima of the Czech Republic (1-3) on Tuesday before beginning a run of three straight two-game days.
Gushue still has to play American John Shuster — the 2018 Olympic champ — as well as both Scotland and Sweden, who met in last year’s final at the Winter Games.
Gushue, the world No. 4, settled for silver in his last two world championship appearances. His lone world title came in 2017 at Edmonton.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2023.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
