(by Fred Rinne)
It wasn’t the colour they were looking for, but at the end of the day, for Heather Nedohin’s Canadian crew of Laine Peters, Jessica Mair, and Beth Iskiw, a bronze medal represents a resiliency and a character statement.
The Edmontonians gained a small measure of revenge against Korea, the team that took them out of gold medal contention Saturday, with a 9-6 win today.
Team Canada sweeps during the 2012 Ford World Women’s Curling Championship. (Photo: CCA/Michael Burns)
The key shot in the see-saw affair was a quiet tap out for three in the fifth end by Nedohin to break open a 3-3 contest.
After exchanging singles in six and seven, the Koreans put the pressure back on when skip Ji-Sun Kim made a hit and stick for a deuce.
A force of one in nine meant the Koreans still had a chance to score a deuce with hammer in 10 and send the game to an extra end, but two pretty good guards by Nedohin left little opportunity for Kim to get at Canada’s shot stone.
Kim’s final chance, a quiet tap attempt, wrecked on a Canadian guard.
For both teams it was an amazing week.
For the Koreans who were 2-9 in Esbjerg last year, to go 8-3, make the playoffs, and make a semi-final appearance, in the words of the diminutive skip, was simply unbelievable.
“We really wanted to win today,” said Kim through an interpreter.
“We lost so we are sad about that, but they (Canada) had a very good game.”
For Nedohin, the win represented a proud effort.
“You know, we really grinded as a unit. It’s been a long week, a hard week, and we learned a lot about our team… how to handle adversity,” she said.
“We’re really proud to have worn the Maple Leaf here in Lethbridge, it was an amazing experience.”