Canada dominates Switzerland for 4th straight win in mixed doubles curling
Kaitlyn Lawes, John Morris improve to 4-1
CBC Sports
Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris extended their win streak to four with a 7-2 win over Switzerland in Draw 5 of mixed doubles curling on Saturday in Pyeongchang to move to the top of the round-robin standings.
Both teams were 3-1 heading into the match, but it was Canada who came out firing. Punishing the 2017 world champions – Martin Rios and Jenny Perret – for their mistakes in the second frame to claim an early 4-1 lead.
Click on the video below to watch Canada take 4 in 2nd end
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Switzerland attempted to slow Canada's momentum in the fifth by using its power play. But Lawes' final stone to the button gave Canada the steal to make it 6-2.
"To be able to steal in a power play is pretty hard and John swept it perfectly and fortunately for us we were able to take advantage of a miss from them," said Lawes.
Rios and Perret would concede after the sixth when Canada stole another.
"The trick is to be patient. We're playing good, consistent curling and then getting some good wins," said Morris. "We know we're in for a tough one tonight. Both our games today, we knew we'd have to battle through."
Click on the video below to watch wrap of Canada vs. Switzerland
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While eight teams are taking part in mixed doubles curling at the Olympics, only the top four qualify for the medal round.
Mixed curling is making its debut at the Olympics, and the basics are relatively simple.
- Each team consists of only two players — one man, one woman instead of the usual teams of four players of the same gender.
- Each team throws five stones per end, with the player delivering the team's first stone of the end also delivering the team's final stone of the end. One stone per team is pre-positioned before the start of play in each end.
- The game lasts eight ends.
- The scoring is the same as in regular curling.
With files from The Canadian Press