Jones rink secures playoff spot at curling worlds

NORTH BAY, Ont. — When the North Bay Memorial Gardens had emptied out and with the midnight hour approaching, two members of the Canadian team returned to the ice for a late-night practice session.

Their perfect round-robin record at the world women’s curling championship didn’t matter. Skip Jennifer Jones and lead Dawn McEwen wanted to come out and throw a few more stones.

It certainly wasn’t required for the top-ranked team in the world, especially with an early alarm clock beckoning. But it does speak to the drive and work ethic of Jones and her Winnipeg team.

“She’s always seeking perfection but she inspires that within her athletes as well that play for her,” said national team coach Elaine Dagg-Jackson.

Canada returned to the ice Thursday morning for an 8-7 win over Russia’s Victoria Moiseeva.

Jones had the hammer in the final end and drew to the four-foot ring for the win. The stone was a little heavy out of her hand but slowed down just in time.

“That wasn’t my best game for sure but we made some big shots and managed to score more points than them and pull out a win,” Jones said.

Canada extended its winning streak to 10 games in the evening with a 14-6 victory over Italy’s Diana Gaspari.

Jones and Olympic champion Anna Hasselborg of Sweden secured playoff spots in the morning draw. Hasselborg later improved to 10-1 with a 9-8 extraend victory over Russia.

South Korea’s EunJung Kim (7-3) also locked up a playoff berth with a 9-5 win over Japan’s Tori Koana. American Jamie Sinclair defeated Germany’s Daniela Jentsch 7-5 in the other evening game.

Round-robin play continues through tonight. The top six teams will advance.

The United States and Russia were tied in fourth place at 6-4. The Czech Republic’s Anna Kubeskova was 5-5 while Japan, China’s Yilun Jiang and Switzerland’s Binia Feltscher were 4-6.

Canada’s morning victory capped a tough three-game stretch that included wins over South Korea and Sweden.

“I think it’s really good that Team Canada gets challenged,” Dagg-Jackson said. “We don’t want to be walking through this thing.”