Canada's Rachel Homan is set to battle for the gold medal at the Pan Continental Curling Championships, following her narrow 6-5 victory over China's Wang Rui during the semifinal match on Friday. This intense encounter was marked by high stakes and nail-biting moments, with Homan's team demonstrating resilience under pressure. Remarkably, Homan did not even need to throw her final stone during the extra end, thanks to Wang's last-minute double takeout attempt, which only managed to eliminate one Canadian stone.
Wang seemed poised to seal the game with three points during the 10th end, but Homan's perfectly executed outturn freeze forced the Chinese team to settle for just two points, giving Canada the all-important hammer advantage for the extra end. Reflecting on the match, Homan praised her team's performance, stating, "We stuck together. We definitely wanted some shots back, but honestly, we played a really good game. They [China] just played crazy good, so it was just one of our few mistakes here and there were a little bit more evident when they played so well."
Homan's Ottawa-based squad, which includes vice-skip Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, and lead Sarah Wilkes, is now set to clash with South Korea in the championship final on Saturday. The Canadian team previously faced the South Koreans during the round-robin phase and emerged victorious with an impressive 8-2 win. Anticipation builds as Homan remarked, "I know we're going to see a bigger team than we faced earlier in the round robin. That wasn't them, so I'm sure we're going to get another game like we had in the semi here."
On the men’s side of the competition, Brad Gushue's hopes for gold ran aground when his Canadian team fell to American rival John Shuster, losing 10-8 during the bronze-medal match. The defeat is particularly significant as it marks the first time Gushue's squad will not stand on the podium at this championship, having won gold at the last two editions. Shuster's victory is of note as it’s also the first time he has triumphed over Gushue since 2019.
Gushue's day began with disappointment as he faced Japan's Shinya Abe, suffering an 8-4 loss during the semifinals. Gushue’s men pulled back to 9-8 after eight ends, showing determination even without hammer advantage heading to the last end, but the Americans clinched the win with one last draw to secure the victory.
Despite the setback, Gushue maintained his composure, expressing, "I feel a whole lot more optimistic about this loss than yesterday because I felt like we threw a lot of good rocks. We didn't get the results we probably deserved for some of our throws, but they played well, and credit to them." This exhibition serves as the inaugural major event showcasing Gushue’s new lineup, including Brendan Bottcher as the second. Bottcher commented positively on the team dynamic, sharing, "It was a really good first event. I think we have some things we can build on, and I'm excited for the next one. We put together some really good games, so there are plenty of positives to take away from this experience."
The Pan Continental Curling Championships, being held for the first time, has provided thrilling matches and showcased impressive talent from across the continent. With Homan and her team on the brink of glory, the spotlight now shines brightly on tomorrow's final, eagerly awaited by curling fans everywhere.
