The way the week has shaken out so far, curling fans from coast-to-coast have to be wondering if Brad Jacobs and his rink didn鈥檛 have his opponents exactly where he wanted them at the 2013 Ford World Men鈥檚 Curling Championship in Victoria.
Playing out of fourth place after the round-robin, Jacobs is close to duplicating what he and third Ryan Fry, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden did last month in winning the Brier.
The Sault Ste. Marie rink pulled off back-to-back wins in the Page Playoff 3-4 game and then the semifinal on Saturday, setting up a shot at a fourth straight world title for sa国际传媒, following in Kevin Koe, Jeff Stoughton and Glenn Howard鈥檚 shoes.
Jacobs defeated Scotland鈥檚 David Murdoch 6-3 in nine ends in the semifinal in the late afternoon after dumping Denmark鈥檚 Rasmus Stjerne 8-6 in the Page 3-4 game in the morning. It鈥檚 very similar to his run at the Brier in Edmonton, which ended with that third straight victory in the final.
D茅jà vu all over again?
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty crazy, but this is our team. We鈥檙e grinders. We don鈥檛 like to do things the easy way, apparently,鈥� said Jacobs. 鈥淲e were taught at an early age to never give up and play as hard as you can, and that鈥檚 what we did today.鈥�
Jacobs advances to the gold medal game against Sweden鈥檚 Niklas Edin at 4 p.m. today at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. Murdoch drops down to the bronze-medal matchup against Stjerne at 11 a.m.
鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of the guys. We鈥檙e in the world final,鈥� said Jacobs.鈥� We lost four of our last six games in the round-robin, but we managed to scrape our way into the final. I think it says a lot about our character. I鈥檓 really proud of how this team was able to park those losses we took, knowing what we were capable of and just doing it.鈥�
They did it in a big way on Saturday as Jacobs and Fry came through in both games, behind the usual solid effort from the front-end Harnden brothers. Jacobs curled 94 per cent in the win over Scotland and Fry was 95 per cent against Denmark.
It鈥檚 certainly reminiscent of the Brier, where they swept through the playoffs without last-rock advantage.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why everyone thinks that [Page] 1-2 game is so important because it鈥檚 a little bit over-rated in our books,鈥� E.J. Harnden said, tongue in cheek. 鈥淣o, you always want to give yourself the best opportunity, but once you鈥檙e in the playoffs it鈥檚 a wash. You have to do what you need to do.鈥�
They did it with solid precision on Saturday.
Against Scotland, Jacobs played a controlled hit and stick for three in the sixth end that broke open the game.
Versus Denmark, the team recorded critical deuces in the sixth, eighth and 10th ends, avenging a 5-3 loss to Stjerne on Thursday.
Jacobs made a superb angled double-takeout in the sixth, drew for two in the eighth and Fry made an incredible run-back to kill three Denmark stones in the final end. Stjerne tried a run-back with his final stone in the 10th, but couldn鈥檛 hold it, allowing the winning two points.
Fry was impeccable in that first game, as was lead Ryan Harnden.
鈥淐oming down the 10th, it鈥檚 not easy against sa国际传媒 and Ryan kills the game with that triple. There was basically no shot left for me there,鈥� said Stjerne. 鈥淭hey were more in it today. You know Canadians, in the playoffs they step it up.鈥�
Much to the delight of the pro-Canadian crowd of 4,221 in the evening. To date, 51,306 fans have attended this worlds event.
鈥淲hen Fry made that shot in 10 [in the morning], the crowd just went crazy,鈥� said Jacobs. 鈥淭hat was the loudest cheer we鈥檝e ever had for our team and that gave us all chills. When you hear that, you really want to close it out for the crowd.鈥�
They鈥檇 like to hear it again today.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really looking forward to playing Sweden in the final,鈥� said Jacobs. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e good friends of ours off the ice and rivals on the ice. Hopefully, it鈥檚 going to be everything that everyone expects, a back and forth battle and a shootout.鈥�
Edin was looking forward to it.
鈥淧atience will be important. If we have our chances, we鈥檒l try to take them. We need to not make the big mistakes, that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about,鈥� said Edin.
Sweden and sa国际传媒 have played six times in the world men鈥檚 final. sa国际传媒 has won four of them.
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