Canada locks up top spot
EDMONTON — Canada’s Brad Gushue locked up the first seed at the men’s world curling championship Thursday with a 9-2 victory over Italy’s Joel Retornaz.
Gushue (10-0) scored a pair in the second end and put the game out of reach with five points in the fourth. The teams shook hands after the minimum six ends were played.
The St. John’s skip had a chance to complete a perfect run through the round-robin against Norway’s Steffen Walstad in the evening draw.
Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker will have hammer in Friday’s Page playoff 1-2 game.
Gushue has been dominant in his first appearance at the worlds. His team has outscored opponents 86-31 overall and played full 10-end games on just two occasions.
Sweden’s Niklas Edin was in second place at 8-1. He did not play in the morning draw. Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz entered Draw 15 in third place at 7-2 and American John Shuster was fourth at 6-3. Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi was next at 5-4 while four rinks — China, Italy, Norway and Scotland — were tied at 4-5.
The second seed will play Gushue in the 1-2 game and the third and fourth seeds will meet in Saturday’s Page 3-4 game. The 1-2 winner will advance to Sunday’s gold-medal game and the loser will play the 3-4 winner in the semifinal Saturday night.
Gushue had a chance to become the first skip since Winnipeg’s Kerry Burtnyk to run the table at this event. Burtnyk swept the field en route to the 1995 title.