Purcell’s team wins twice as Canada closes in on junior curling playoff spot

JÖNKÖPING, Sweden – Canada’s Owen Purcell won both his games Thursday to put his Halifax rink in playoff contention at the world junior curling championships.

Purcell’s team improved to 5-3 in the men’s competition with a 7-4 win over South Korea followed by a 9-3 victory over Norway.

Canada and Norway are in a three-way tie for the final two playoff spots alongside Switzerland’s Kim Schwaller.

Purcell finishes the round-robin Friday against Sweden’s Axel Landelius (1-7).

The top four teams in each competition advance to the semifinals. Germany’s Benjamin Kapp and Scotland’s James Craik have both qualified for the men’s playoffs with 7-1 records.

In the eighth end against South Korea’s Jae Beom Lee, Canada sat one and made a full four-foot draw to get a second point, taking a 7-3 lead.

South Korea scored one in the ninth but opted to concede instead of going into the final end four down without hammer.

Canada put the game away in the match against Norway’s Grunde Buraas with five points in the eighth end. That was Canada’s biggest single-end score so far at the tournament.

“Skipper made a peach. Definitely one of the best shots I’ve seen in a long time for the five,” said Canada lead Scott Weagle. “It doesn’t get a whole lot better than that. It was exciting, and it got the boys fired up. It was a lot of fun to be a part of.”

In women’s competition, Isabelle Ladouceur of Sudbury, Ont., fell to 2-5 with an 11-5 loss to the United States.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2022.