By Canadian Press

Canada’s Gushue to play for gold at world men’s curling championship

Apr 9, 2022 | 11:41 PM

LAS VEGAS — Canada’s Brad Gushue will play for gold at the world men’s curling championship after an 8-5 semifinal win over American Korey Dropkin on Saturday night.

Gushue and his St. John’s-based team of Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker scored two in the 10th end when Dropkin’s final draw was a little heavy.

Defending champion Niklas Edin of Sweden beat Italy’s Joel Retornaz 8-4 in the other semifinal at the Orleans Arena.

Gushue beat Edin in the 2017 world final in Edmonton but the Swede won the return match in 2018 at this same venue. Edin has won five world titles over his career and is the reigning Olympic champion.

Dropkin reached the semifinal with a 6-4 win over Scotland’s Kyle Waddell in a qualification game earlier Saturday.

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Both Canada and the U.S. made errors in the first end as they appeared to struggle with getting a read on the ice. Gallant made two mistakes and Nichols flashed his first stone but Canada still managed to blank.

More precision shots were made in the second end and Gushue delivered a double-takeout to open the scoring with a pair.

A small but mighty crowd — split almost evenly between Canadian and American supporters — provided some atmosphere in a venue that has been quiet most of the week.

Dropkin tried an angle-raise in the third end but could only get a single. He gave up a steal of two in the sixth but scored his first deuce in the ninth end after gently tapping his own stone.

Gushue’s rink has enjoyed a remarkable season, its last campaign as a foursome ahead of Gallant’s upcoming departure. 

The team won Canada’s Olympic trials last fall, took bronze at the Winter Games and earned a national title as a threesome after Nichols withdrew due to COVID-19.

Canada posted a 10-2 round-robin record to lock up the first seed. Gushue’s side will have hammer for the final.

Retornaz, who dumped Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller 10-4 in the other qualification game, will play Dropkin for the bronze Sunday morning. The gold-medal game is slated for the late afternoon.

Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni won the women’s world title last month in Prince George, B.C. Canada’s Kerri Einarson took the bronze.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2022. 

Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press