Sweden’s Edin ends Gushue’s run
LAS VEGAS — Niklas Edin would not be denied gold at the men’s world curling championship after falling just short of it at the Olympic Games.
His Swedish team was on a mission in Las Vegas and dominated Canada’s Brad Gushue 7-3 to take the title Sunday.
Gushue, who beat Edin for gold last year in Edmonton, shook hands after eight ends.
“Real disappointed, obviously,” Gushue said. “It wasn’t our best effort.
“They played extremely well today and the only positive I can look at from our standpoint is even if we came out and played really good, it may not have been good enough.”
Sweden’s world championship gold eased the sting of losing to John Shuter of the U.S. in the Olympic final in February.
“A super-nice feeling after winning this gold and a little redemption after that Olympic loss,” Edin said.
Edin’s third career world title is Sweden’s eighth in the 60-year history of the tournament.
The 32-year-old from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, also won gold in 2015 in Halifax and 2013 in Victoria.
Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker out of the Bally Haly Golf and Country Club in St. John’s, N.L., were attempting to become the fifth team to win back-to-back world titles.
Canada’s Randy Ferbey (2002-3), Don Duguid (1970-71), Ron Northcott (1968-69) and Ernie Richardson (1959-60, 1962-63) were the others.
But with the 86-year-old Richardson and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper watching at the Orleans Arena, Gushue trailed 5-0 after five ends against a big-hitting Swedish team that excels at defence.
Edin, who went 11-1 in the preliminary round, earned last-rock advantage in the first end as the higher playoff seed. Canada went 9-3 in the round robin.
After blanking two ends, Sweden scored two in the third and stole three points over the next two. Gushue was light on a draw against two Swedish stones in the fourth end.
He missed an attempted double takeout to score two in the fifth to give up another steal.
“Once you’re down four-nothing and especially five-nothing, you’re not going to come back against Niklas Edin,” Gushue said.
Gushue’s tournament was more stressful than a year ago in Edmonton, where his team went undefeated.
The four men were also in a confident, relaxed zone last month in Regina where they lost only one game en route to a second straight Canadian title.
In Las Vegas, Gushue struggled with reads of ice that he felt was often different from one day to the next.
Each member of the team took their turn having an off game, requiring his teammates to prop him up.
Nichols played through the grief of his mother’s death just prior to the tournament. His shooting percentage of 87 was the best among thirds in the preliminary round.
Helen Nichols died a week before the tournament began at the age of 63. Gallant’s grandfather Lorne Burke died three days later.
“I thought both of them, with the situation that they had, played extremely well,” Gushue said. “As a team, we handled it as well as we could.”
The Orleans hotel and arena complex is situated west of the strip. All curlers, fans, officials and volunteers were together all the time at the hotel, arena and pool.
There wasn’t enough of a mental break from the event between draws for Gushue’s comfort.
But the skip said he eventually came around to embracing what he couldn’t control and accepting his team could win without playing what he called “a real clean game.”