ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Switzerland’s Team Marco Hoesli rallied past Canada’s Team Brad Gushue to play another day in the KIOTI National.
Hoesli took two points in the extra end to edge out the hometown hero Gushue 8-6 during Friday night’s round-robin finale at the sold-out Mary Brown’s Centre.
It was the second straight win for Hoesli, whose club levelled its record and will face Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz for the eighth and final men’s playoff spot early Saturday morning.
The newly minted European champion Muskatewitz also improved to a 2-2 record to remain in contention following a 6-4 victory over Switzerland’s Team Michael Brunner (1-3).
“It feels really awesome,” said Hoesli, who throws third stones on the team. “It’s just great to play here. We’ve never experienced something this big and a crowd with that much energy. It just feels amazing to play here and even better if you win a game or two.”
Hoesli also went 2-2 through the Co-op Canadian Open at the start of the month, however, bad luck of the draw meant a tiebreaker wasn’t even in the cards and the team was eliminated early.
“It’s an improvement definitely from the outcome, but I think we still have to try not to go through the tiebreakers, so possibly for the future it’s our goal to go 3-1 or play better draw shots,” Hoesli said. “But for the moment, it’s great to be in the tiebreakers, and I hope we’ll win again tomorrow.”
Gushue opened with the hammer and took advantage. After fourth Philipp Hoesli’s rock rolled deep, Gushue drew for three points off the hop.
Team Hoesli recovered quickly, taking two back in the second, and the comeback was on.
Gushue’s chip shot in the third looked like it would be for multiple points, however, the 15-time Grand Slam champion raised his arms in disbelief as Hoesli’s stone curled back in to prevent him from scoring more than one.
After Gushue jammed a raise in the fourth, Philipp Hoesli’s draw shot for another deuce suddenly made it all square at 4-4 heading into the break.
The force was strong in five and six, resulting in singles back and forth, and Team Hoesli pulled ahead on a steal in seven as Gushue jammed a double attempt.
Still, that gave Gushue the hammer coming home, but Philipp Hoesli came through in the clutch with a double takeout to sit two counters.
“That was very important,” Marco Hoesli said. “To be honest, I think we all were pretty nervous, but he played it really clean.”
That forced Gushue into a tricky draw just to score the equalizer and force the extra end.
Although it was hard to tell if Hoesli had already shot a rock before the team’s last, Philipp Hoesli’s open hit made it conclusive.
“If you’re going into an extra with hammer, you’re always a bit more comfortable, I think,” Marco Hoesli said. “You have easier shots, but still a lot of pressure there. I think we felt pressure, the whole team, but in the end, we managed it nicely.”
Have no fear, Gushue fans. The team qualified for the playoffs at 2-2 regardless, based on draw-to-the-button shootout totals.
Meanwhile, Saskatoon’s Team Mike McEwen completed a 4-0 run through round-robin play — and took the No. 1 seed for the quarterfinals — with an 8-1 victory over Winnipeg’s Team Reid Carruthers (1-3).
“That’s been a while,” a smiling McEwen said. “No, it feels really good. It’s really nice to play that consistently over four games against the best competition in the world.
“I’m excited for tomorrow. It’s big going undefeated. You get hammer, that’s a big deal in the playoffs. I can’t wait for Saturday in here.”
McEwen was looking forward to facing his longtime pal Carruthers, who has retooled his lineup not once but twice this year. After Brad Jacobs moved on during the off-season, Carruthers added Catlin Schneider to play third. Longtime second Derek Samagalski stepped back from the team following the Co-op Canadian Open, and Kyle Doering came on board.
The game was all McEwen as he scored three points in the second and again in the fourth while stealing two in the fifth. Carruthers counted his single in the third.
“It’s too bad,” McEwen said. “They’ve had some lineup changes, so I think it’s going to take them a little bit to get their mojo back. That’s what I’m sensing out there. As much as I want to win every game for my boys, I don’t like to see them struggle.
“Hopefully, they find their way back. They’ve got some time. They’ve got Kyle in the house now (as vice skip), there are some shifting parts there. That’s tough, oh OK, we’re going to step into this arena and just have to be firing on all cylinders to beat teams in this field. That’s a tough ask, so they’re going to need some time before things start clicking, I think.”
Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller (1-3) ended on a high note with a 5-3 decision against Scotland’s Team Ross Whyte (3-1).
-
-
Kioti National on Sportsnet
The Grand Slam of Curling season continues with the Kioti National. Watch live coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ from Thursday through to Sunday’s finals.
Broadcast Schedule
McEwen will meet the winner of the tiebreaker match in the quarterfinals while Gushue plays Calgary’s Team Brad Jacobs (4-0), Whyte faces Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz (2-2) and Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat (3-1) goes up against Team John Shuster (3-1) of the United States.
UP NEXT
Two women’s tiebreakers are set: Halifax’s Team Christina Black vs. Team Eun-ji Gim of South Korea and Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni vs. Team Seung-youn Ha of South Korea.
The tiebreaker round begins Saturday at 8:30 a.m. NT / 7 a.m. ET.
The women’s quarterfinals kick off playoff coverage at noon NT / 10:30 a.m. ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+. Sweden’s Team Anna Hasselborg and Team Eun-jung Kim of South Korea await the tiebreaker winners with Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan vs. Team Sayaka Yoshimura of Japan and Team Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., vs. Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa.
The men’s quarterfinals start at 4 p.m. NT / 2:30 p.m. ET (Sportsnet and Sportsnet+) followed by the men’s and women’s semifinals at 8 p.m. NT / 6:30 p.m. ET (Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+).
Both finals are on tap Sunday.
