GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — Canada has clinched its spot in the playoffs at the 2022 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
While there’s one more day of round-robin competition to go at Sous-Moulin Sports Centre and two more games for Canada, it is all but certain that Jocelyn Peterman (Winnipeg) and Brett Gallant (St. John’s, N.L.), along with coaches Scott Pfeifer and Lisa Weagle, have qualified for one of six playoff spots in the 20-team field.
Canada is guaranteed a playoff spot after a steady 6-2 victory against sister-and-brother duo Anna and Ben Fowler of England (2-5) on Wednesday afternoon in Geneva, Switzerland.
“If we continue to play the way we’re playing and we continue to get comfortable with the ice, we’ll be in a good position,” Gallant said. “We’re positioning our draws better than we were at the start of the week, and that’s been the key to our game. Getting those angles set up, and we’re starting to make a few more shots a game, and that’s really been helping.”
In the first end, Canada opened with a steal by forcing the Fowler siblings into playing a double takeout attempt. It missed the mark, and Canada slid out of the end with two points on the board. England replied by getting a point in the second end with a hit and roll and then kept Peterman and Gallant to one in the third.
From that point on, Canada picked away at England with single stolen points in the fourth, fifth and sixth ends.
In the fourth, England was forced to play a tap, and while it was close, Canada came away with the point.
England used its power play in the fifth end but was light on a draw to score one. Peterman and Gallant set up the end by playing a tick shot to move the corner guard and eliminate any big chances for England.
“It’s a tough shot because it’s a bit frosty out on the wings there,” Gallant said of Peterman’s first. “We’ve been adjusting every draw to find that perfect weight and perfect line to take for that shot. To make that one takes a bit of pressure off me, because if you miss that one then you’re kind of chasing a little bit.”
In the sixth, Gallant threw a draw over a wide path that hadn’t seen much action during the game and frost was building up. He added extra rotation to help the stone find its way through and managed to land it frozen on the button for Canada’s sixth point of the game.
“We were sitting pretty good, and I thought it was a good opportunity to play a shot like that. I knew that if we were light, it would be okay because it would block them. But I thought if I can get a little more comfortable with the ice and take that opportunity,” Gallant said. “I used a little experience there, and I thought it would be close, and we got it right.”
The duo from England couldn’t muster more than a point in the seventh end and opted to concede.
Canada improves to 6-2 but its final seed is to be determined. Scotland’s Eve Muirhead and Bobby Lammie (7-0), also in Pool B with Canada, qualified for the playoffs.
For the Canadian duo, who are to be married in June of this year, it’s been an exciting way to cap off the curling season.
“We like playing together, and we enjoy it. It’s fun on the ice, and we’re not really thinking about the pressure ever. We just like playing and making great shots, and this discipline is fun for us to highlight that,” Peterman said.
Canada finishes its round-robin schedule on Thursday with two games. First, it takes on Australia’s Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt (3-4) at 10 a.m. (all times ET), followed by Becca and Matt Hamilton of the United States (4-3) at 6 p.m.
The top three teams in both pools advance to the playoffs with the top two seeds receiving a bye to the semifinals, while the remaining four teams play in the first round. The gold- and bronze-medal games will be played on Saturday.
TSN will broadcast select Canadian round-robin games and all playoff games. For its complete broadcast schedule, click here.
