Canadian curlers 2nd in Group B at mixed doubles worlds after lopsided wins
Jocelyn Peterman, Brett Gallant rout Hungary 10-1, Czechs 10-4 to improve to 5-1
Canada's Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant improved to 5-1 at the world mixed curling championship with a pair of lopsided wins.
Canada opened with a 10-1 rout of Hungary in Tuesday's early draw at the Sous-Moulin Sports Centre in Geneva, then finished the day with a 10-4 win over the Czech Republic.
The wins moved Winnipeg's Peterman and Gallant, of St. John's into second place in Group B, just behind undefeated Scotland (6-0). The Scottish team of Eve Muirhead and Bobby Lammie handed Canada its only loss so far with an 8-4 victory on Monday. Thanks to Scotland's excellent positioning, Canada chose not to throw Peterman's last rock in a few of the ends due to risk of losing points.
"It was a frustrating loss to Scotland because I didn't even give Joce a chance to throw any of her last ones," Gallant said. "My draw weight was just off by a couple of feet and I thought they had a better handle on it.
"But today, we positioned a lot of stones where we wanted to and it makes all the difference in getting opportunities at getting a couple of points and letting Jocelyn throwing her last one."
WATCH | Canada handles Czechs, improving to 5-1 in Geneva:
Canada opened an early 7-0 lead over Hungary's Ildiko Szekeres and Gyorgy Nagy with two points in the first end, followed by steals of one in the second and three in the third.
Hungary scored one in the fourth, but Canada replied with another three-point end in the fifth, then clinched the game when a steal of one in the sixth led Hungary to concede.
The Canadians' second match had a similar start. Peterman and Gallant scored two in the first end, then blew the game open early with steals of three in the second end and one in the third.
Julie Zelingrova and Vit Chabicovsky scored three in the fourth end to cut Canada's lead in half. The teams traded singles over the next two ends before Canada put the game away with three in the seventh.
Olympic champs Italy lead Group A
The United States suffered a pair of losses Tuesday to fall to third in Group B at 4-2. The Czechs and Hungary fell to 3-3, followed by England and Germany (2-3).
Australia and Spain were at 1-4, followed by Turkey at 1-5.
Olympic champion Italy led Group A at 5-1, followed by Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway at 4-2.
Canada has one match on Wednesday as Peterman and Gallant take on England in the afternoon draw.
Round-robin play continues through Thursday. The top three teams from each 10-team group will advance to the playoffs.
The world senior curling championships are running concurrently at the same venue.
Alberta's Wade White was in a tie with the United States atop Group A of the men's competition at 4-0 after posting a 14-0 win over Turkey on Tuesday.
In women's competition, Saskatchewan's Sherry Anderson beat Sweden 8-4 to improve to 3-1, good for second in Group A behind Scotland (4-0).
