An opening weekend round-robin game was part of the usual buildup to the playoffs for a perennial curling contender like CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Brad Gushue.
It was quite the opposite for New ZealandB次元官网网址檚 Anton Hood.
The 23-year-old Auckland skip was in new territory Sunday at his first world menB次元官网网址檚 championship, playing a curling power like Canada in front of the host teamB次元官网网址檚 adoring crowd.
Hood B次元官网网址� ranked No. 188 in the world B次元官网网址� soaked in the full TD Place experience and was still smiling afterward despite dropping an 8-2 decision.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just awesome to watch how they do it and how they play,B次元官网网址� said Hood. B次元官网网址淲e learned so much just from that game alone.B次元官网网址�
The fourth-ranked Gushue opened with a deuce and iced the win with a hit for three as New Zealand conceded after seven ends.
B次元官网网址淚t was pretty incredible to play in front of a crowd of (several) thousand against Canada in Canada,B次元官网网址� Hood said. B次元官网网址淲e loved every minute of it.B次元官网网址�
Gushue did face some anxious moments in what looked like a lopsided matchup on paper.
Hood made an angle-raise double-takeout to sit three in the second end. Gushue drew the button but still left an around-the-horn possibility that could have given New Zealand a whopping six points if made.
However, Hood played the wrong turn B次元官网网址� using an out-turn instead of an in-turn B次元官网网址� and nosed the stone to give up a steal.
B次元官网网址淲e dodged that bullet,B次元官网网址� Gushue said. B次元官网网址淩eally from that point on I feel like we controlled the game and didnB次元官网网址檛 give him much of a chance.B次元官网网址�
Hood called it a good example of a learning experience on one of the sportB次元官网网址檚 biggest stages.
B次元官网网址淲e really just needed to take a second and slow down and take that opportunity,B次元官网网址� he said.
Canada would force Hood to make some great draws to prevent big ends. He successfully drew against four in the third end and against five Canada stones in the sixth.
Gushue improved to 2-1 after four draws while Hood remained winless at 0-3.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e just going to get better and better from this point onward,B次元官网网址� Hood said. B次元官网网址淪o weB次元官网网址檙e excited.B次元官网网址�
In other Draw 4 matchups, defending champion Niklas Edin of Sweden defeated ScotlandB次元官网网址檚 Bruce Mouat 7-4 in a rematch of last yearB次元官网网址檚 Olympic final.
SwitzerlandB次元官网网址檚 Yannick Schwaller beat GermanyB次元官网网址檚 Sixten Totzek 7-3 and JapanB次元官网网址檚 Riku Yanagisawa dumped South KoreaB次元官网网址檚 Byeongjin Jeong 9-2.
Canada was scheduled to play NorwayB次元官网网址檚 Magnus Ramsfjell on Sunday night.
Entering evening play, Switzerland and Sweden led the standings at 3-0. Japan and Norway were also unbeaten at 2-0 ahead of Canada and Scotland at 2-1.
B次元官网网址�(Hopefully) we can start to get that mojo going,B次元官网网址� Gushue said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e getting closer though. I felt much better today than I did when we played yesterday.B次元官网网址�
The top six rinks in the 13-team field at the end of round-robin play will qualify for the playoffs. Medal games are scheduled for April 9.
GushueB次元官网网址檚 St. JohnB次元官网网址檚, N.L.-based side took silver at last yearB次元官网网址檚 world championship in Las Vegas. His lone world title came in 2017 at Edmonton.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
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