Canada drops game to ‘beatable’ Swiss

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This article was published 20/03/2023 (402 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It wasn’t the type of game you’d expect from arguably the two best teams in the world.

Although it wasn’t pretty, Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni was more than happy to leave Tuesday afternoon’s round robin meeting with Canada’s Kerri Einarson with a 7-6 victory to remain unbeaten at the World Women’s Curling Championship.

The Swiss, who have won the past three world titles and currently sit alone in first at 6-0, were nowhere near their best as they combined to shoot 72.5 per cent. The door was open for Einarson’s Gimli-based team to make a big statement and pick up a win over Tirinzoni on the world stage for the first time, but they failed to bring their A-game. Einarson shot 68 per cent and third Val Sweeting curled a game-low 59 per cent.

Einarson responded in the next draw by picking up a 10-4 victory over winless New Zealand to improve to 5-2.

“Yeah, they’re definitely beatable. We did not play well at all and they also struggled, too,” said Einarson in a phone call with the Free Press.

“We missed a lot of opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on. The ice was extremely fast compared to what we just played on. Even from yesterday, that was the fastest that we’ve seen. The ice is constantly changing and hasn’t been as consistent, but we’re still learning and figuring it out and so are all the other teams.”

The only back end player who came close to playing up to their calibre was Tirinzoni’s fourth, Alina Paetz, who shot 81 per cent against Canada.

Paetz had nothing critical to say about the conditions inside the Göransson Arena in Sandviken, Sweden. The facility has been the site of the Bandy World Cup for over a decade.

“Well, to be honest, the players who say the ice is tricky, I don’t really agree with that. I think in general the ice is really good. I mean, we have some tricky spots, but we’re at a level where we should be able to read the ice,” said Paetz.

“It’s not like one is curling and one isn’t, it’s always the same in the same spot. Like for us today, I think our misses came down to execution.”

Einarson now has a career 0-3 record against Tirinzoni at the worlds. Einarson has also lost to Tirinzoni at two Grand Slams this season, including the Boost National final in October.

Despite the history of success against Einarson and Co., Paetz has nothing but respect for her opponents.

“They are the best team in the world right now. And over the last four years, they’ve been incredible. I also think we’re a pretty decent team and on a level like this, it comes to little things,” said Paetz.

“For now, we could have handled that a little better in the games we’ve played them, but we’ve also had some losses over the years against them. There’s no secret recipe (to beating them).”

Tirinzoni and Paetz have a chance to make history this week and become the first players to win the event four years in a row. Carole Howald was their alternate for the past two years but is now the full-time second. Lead Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann is in her first season with the team.

“It would mean a lot. The goal for us is to win a medal here. If it’s a gold one, it’s even better. As a new team, I think we should take it game by game. It’s still a long week to go, but we’re feeling really good right now,” said Paetz.

Einarson remains in striking distance in second place. The 12-game round robin concludes on Friday. The top six from the 13-team field advance to Saturday’s playoff round. The two teams with the best records receive byes to the semis while the other four play the first round.

Einarson plays Germany’s Daniela Jentsch (3-3) Wednesday at 8 a.m. CT.

“We’re feeling really good, still just trying to figure out the ice. It’s quite tricky with different paths and little bit of runs here and there,” said Einarson.

“It’s a work in progress out here. My brain never shuts off. It’s constantly thinking and remembering paths. It’s definitely challenging.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31