Canada's Curlers Edge Out Germany in Tense Olympic Curling Opener
In a thrilling start to the men's curling competition at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, Team Brad Jacobs of Canada narrowly secured a 7-6 victory over a determined German team led by Olympic rookie skip Marc Muskatewitz. The match, which extended to an extra end, highlighted a dramatic clash between the oldest and youngest men's teams in the tournament.
A Battle of Generations
The game pitted the experienced Canadian squad, returning to Olympic play since 2014, against the youthful German team, who recently claimed the 2024 European championships by defeating veteran teams from Italy, Scotland, and Sweden. Lead Ben Hebert of Canada acknowledged the Germans' tenacity, stating, "They're gonna play like that, they're gonna win a lot of games." He added, "You don't want to let an early one slip, and we almost let that one slip."
Match Highlights and Key Moments
The closely contested match saw Germany win the last stone draw and blank the first two ends before scoring two points in the third. Canada tied it up in the fourth end with the hammer, then stole two in the fifth when Germany overshot its final stone. Germany bounced back to tie the score 4-4 in the sixth, but Canada blanked the seventh and eighth ends to retain the hammer, picking up two points in the ninth to lead 6-4.
Refusing to concede, Germany scored two on Muskatewitz's last shot in the 10th, forcing an extra end. Near disaster struck for Canada when Marc Kennedy mis-shot and cleared two of his own stones, but Jacobs delivered a crucial final point with his last stone to seal the win. Jacobs was sharp throughout, curling at 93 percent, with highlights including a precise shot to remove a buried German stone that Hebert called "crazy."
Post-Match Reactions and Future Games
Second Brett Gallant expressed relief with the ice conditions for the four-player tournament, contrasting them with the mixed doubles event where he and wife Jocelyn Peterman finished fifth. He described the refreshed ice as "chalk and cheese" and noted, "It's completely different. More like it was at the start of the doubles event. There's plenty of curl." Gallant added, "It's kind of like a fresh beginning, so I'm grateful for that."
Team Jacobs continues its Olympic campaign on Friday against Team Danny Casper of the U.S.A., while Team Rachel Homan's first game is scheduled for Thursday against Denmark.
