By Canadian Press

Canada’s Koe beats Scotland and Switzerland to reach gold-medal game at worlds

Apr 6, 2019 | 11:00 AM

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Canada lead Ben Hebert came off the ice after another dramatic win at the world men’s curling championship and promptly extended both arms out.

“I’m just goosebump central right now,” he said. “That was special.”

His skip, Kevin Koe, had just delivered another clutch shot on Saturday for a second straight 6-5 victory and a berth in the gold-medal game against Sweden.

Koe came through in the final end of a qualification game win over Scotland’s Bruce Mouat in the morning and drew the four-foot ring in an extra-end semifinal victory over Switzerland’s Peter De Cruz in the evening.

“What can you say, a little bit of panic at the end … it hung on and it was perfect,” Koe said.

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Koe’s win set up a Canada-Sweden final for the third straight year. Defending champion Niklas Edin beat Japan’s Yuta Matsumura 8-2 in the afternoon semifinal.

Koe has been curling his best in high-pressure situations this season.

With just five seconds left on the clock against Scotland, Koe delivered a perfect tap that froze and left Scotland with little chance of pulling even with a deuce.

Mouat could only score one with his final throw.

“Our skip is starting to fire,” Hebert said. “When he starts going like that, he’s ridiculous.”

Koe was at it again in the nightcap. The Calgary skip made the shot of the competition with a stunning quadruple takeout in the third end.

The packed house at the Enmax Centre erupted when four Swiss stones rolled out and two Canadian rocks remained. 

“To have the barn sold out like this, it feels like we’re in a hockey game,” Hebert said. “When Kevin made that quad, I couldn’t hear myself think.”

Koe’s teammates emphatically pumped their fists after the shot. The usually stoic skip briefly raised his broom in the air and even cracked a smile.

“No one else in the world can make a quad like that,” Hebert said. “It’s gross. And a game-saver. To give up a four-banger like that, take the momentum away, we’re in some big trouble.

“That was huge and got us going back in the right direction.”

The shot prevented a big Swiss end and the force kept the host side in control. Koe came through again in the seventh with a razor-thin double takeout that made the crowd pop once more.

The plucky Swiss side took a 4-3 lead in the eighth with a hit and stick for two before Koe drew for a pair in the ninth. Swiss fourth Benoit Schwarz forced an extra end with a draw for one.

Japan and Switzerland will play for bronze in the early game Sunday.

Matsumura edged American John Shuster 7-6 in the other morning qualification game, sealing the win by drawing to the button in an extra end.

Edin, a three-time world champion, beat Canada’s Brad Gushue last year in Las Vegas to avenge a loss to the St. John’s, N.L., skip in the 2017 final at Edmonton.

Koe seems to maintain his composure no matter what the situation. He delivered on a game-winning shot for the national title last month and is making a habit of taking his time even when the clock is winding down. 

“I just remind myself to throw it good and the result will take care of itself,” Koe said. “It’s worked this year, that’s for sure.”

Canada started the game against Scotland with hammer and used it for a tap that gave Koe a 2-0 lead. Mouat was forced to a single in the second and gave up a deuce in the third end. 

Koe jammed on a double takeout in the fourth to set Scotland up for a pair.

In the seventh, Mouat made an excellent draw that froze on a Canada stone at the four-foot. Koe drew the button for a single but Canada forced Scotland in the eighth.

Koe went for a blank attempt in the ninth end but his stone hung around after a double takeout. That gave Mouat the hammer down by two in the 10th.

Koe led all Canadian players at 94 per cent. Scotland shot 88 per cent overall to 87 per cent for Canada.

Koe won world titles in 2010 and 2016 with different teams. His Calgary-based rink of third B.J. Neufeld, second Colton Flasch and Hebert is the top-ranked team in the world.

“It’s great to be back in the final,” Hebert said. “We’re taking home some hardware. We don’t know what colour it is yet, but we’re pretty thrilled with that.”

In the nightcap, Canada scored a deuce in the second and forced Switzerland to one in the third. Koe gave up a steal of one in the fifth before throwing a tap for one in the sixth end for a 3-2 lead.

Canada settled for the third seed after posting a 9-3 record in round-robin play. Sweden (11-1 in round-robin play) and Switzerland (9-3) earned byes to the semifinals.

Japan (9-3) took the fourth seed ahead of the United States (8-4) and Scotland (8-4).

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Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press