Gushue beats China’s Liu to stay unblemished
St. John’s skip perfect 6-0 in round-robin play
• Canada’s Brad Gushue rolled past China’s Rui Liu 9- 4 on Tuesday afternoon at the Ford World Men’s Curling Championship.
The St. John’s skip is undefeated in round- robin play at 6- 0. He was the only unbeaten skip in the 12-team field heading into an evening draw match against Germany’s Alexander Baumann.
“I think we’re loose, we’re having fun,” Gushue said. “We’re enjoying this experience and this opportunity. We’re playing well, which is good.”
Sweden’s Niklas Edin was alone in second place at 6-1 after a 10- 5 victory over Russia’s Alexey Stukalskiy.
In the other afternoon games, Scotland’s David Murdoch dumped Jaap Van Dorp of the Netherlands 9- 5 and Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi outscored Norway’s Steffen Walstad 9-7.
After 10 draws, Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz was in third place at 5-1 and Japan was fourth at 4-2. Italy’s Joel Retornaz and American John Shuster were even at 3-3 while China, Norway and Scotland were next at 3-4.
Round- robin play continues through Thursday night. The Page playoffs begin Friday and the medal games are scheduled for Sunday.
In his game against China, Gushue made a rare miss in the first end when his stone rubbed a guard. China drew for a pair to open the scoring, but Gushue pulled even in the second and added another point in the third end on a steal.
Liu was forced to a single in the fourth and Gushue pulled away in the fifth when an open draw for three gave him a 6-3 lead.
The teams exchanged singles before a Gushue deuce sealed the win in eight ends. Canada was to play Germany’s Alexander Baumann in the evening draw at Northlands Coliseum.
This is Gushue’s first career appearance at the world men’s playdowns. He won the Tim Hortons Brier last month by beating 2016 world champion Kevin Koe in the final.
Both Gushue and his third, Mark Nichols, were disappointed to hear about Monday’s decision that NHL players would not be going to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
“I think it’s a terrible decision,” Gushue said. “Just from a hockey perspective, I don’t know how you don’t go to the biggest event in the world and showcase your best players. As a fan I’m very disappointed by it.
“I’m sure there’s some business reason behind it, but from a pure hockey and a pure fan’s perspective, I think it’s terrible to not give those guys an opportunity.”
Gushue and Nichols are hoping to return to the Games for the first time since Turin.
They can secure a berth in the Olympic Trials this December with a podium appearance at this week’s worlds at Northlands Coliseum.
On the men’s hockey front, the Olympic tournament will not exactly feature household names.
Canada will likely try to win a third straight gold with players from lower- level pro leagues around the world.
“A little disappointed in the decision as an athlete and a fan of high- calibre sport, Nichols said. “I just think you want the best players playing in the biggest event in the world.”
Former prime minister Stephen Harper was in attendance Monday night as Gushue defeated American skip John Shuster 8-2 to improve his round- robin record to 5- 0.
Harper, who wrote a book on the history of hockey, declined to comment on the NHL announcement.
The 2018 Games are set to begin Feb. 9.
“If you’re any sort of athlete, that’s the coolest and the biggest event you’re ever going to play in,” Nichols said. “It’s too bad that those guys won’t get a chance to do it.”