THE CANADIAN PRESS
OSTERSUND, Sweden — Canada’s men scored a pair of victories Wednesday to clinch a playoff berth at the world junior curling championships.
William Dion’s Quebec team got past Scotland 6-3 in the morning game. The Scots, with the hammer, failed to draw in the last end. Later, Canada needed an extra end to edge Sweden 8-7 in a see-saw battle.
Canada tops the standings with a 6-1 record, followed by Sweden, Switzerland and the United States at 5-2.
"That was a close call," said Dion after the Scotland match. "It was a tough game and the team really carried me.
"The last end was a nail-biter. We were lucky as they retained the hammer and had last rock. The ice had gone very flat — in fact if you looked down you could see your face. It was like a mirror, so his draw stayed straight and wrecked on a stray outside guard."
In the afternoon women’s draw, Sweden edged Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes 7-6 in an extra end.
Swedish skip Cissi Ostlund had to draw the eight-foot circle with two Canadian stones lying in scoring position. Her throw looked strong, but the stone dug in to give Sweden the win.
"We played well and thought we could do it," said a disappointed Lawes. "However, it just seemed to slip away from us."
The Manitoba rink’s record fell to 3-4 with the loss to the hosts.