Team Canada men rebounded from a morning loss to earn their first win at the 2015 Universiade in Granada, Spain.
Jim Coleman calls the line as Daniel Grant and Chris Gallant sweep skip Matt Dunston’s rock into the house (Photo Brian Chick)
Winnipeg’s Matt Dunstone, backed up by third Jim Coleman, second Daniel Grant, lead Chris Gallant and coach Scott Grant, got off to a quick start against the Czech Republic’s Krystof Chaloupek, stealing three points in the first two ends. A score of three in the sixth put them ahead even further and they coasted to an 8-2 victory over the previously undefeated Czech Republic foursome.
The win marked a solid rebound from a 7-4 loss earlier in the day to Great Britain’s Kyle Smith, the 2013 world junior champion and a finalist at the 2014 world championships. In the morning game, the Canadians fell behind after giving up steals in the first two ends. Trailing 5-3 at the break, the team from Winnipeg couldn’t catch up.
But the win gives Dunstone and his crew some momentum.
“We got off to a rough start, but it’s really nice to get the first win,” he said after the second game of the day. “It’s a long week, and we’ve got some tough battles ahead, but we’re still definitely in this thing. If we can keep improving, getting better each game, we’ll be right there at the end.”
In the women’s competition, Breanne Meakin’s Ottawa-based team — third Lauren Horton, second Lynn Kreviazuk, lead Jessica Armstrong and coach Doug Kreviazuk — dominated in a 9-2 win over Great Britain’s Hazel Smith (0-3). Canada started with a steal of one and never looked back. A score of four in the eighth end put the game out of reach for Great Britain. Canada now sits at the top of the standings, tied with Sweden at 3-0.
The Canadian women play a pair of games on Saturday — at 3 a.m. EST against Sweden’s Sara McManus (3-0) and 3 p.m. EST against Switzerland’s Michele Jaeggi (2-1). Team Canada men will meet Switzerland’s Kim-Lloyd Sciboz (0-3) at 1 p.m. EST on Saturday.
There are numerous ways to follow Team Canada at the Winter Universiade:
Official Universiade results site:
http://www.granada2015.org/en/sports/schedule-a-results
Official Universiade live streaming:
http://www.granada2015.org/en/media-universiada/universiade-tv
Official Team Canada Universiade websites:
ENG: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/winter/2015/index
FRE: http://francais.cis-sic.ca/universiade/hiver/2015/index
CIS YouTube (Daily videos of Team Canada at Universiade):
https://www.youtube.com/universitysport/
FISU YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FISUTV
Team Canada Facebook (photos, updates, recaps):
https://www.facebook.com/CDNUniversiade
Team Canada Instagram (photos):
http://instagram.com/cdnuniversiade
Team Canada Twitter (updates, photos, recaps):
https://twitter.com/CDNUniversiade