Canada wins extra end thriller against Czech Republic in mixed doubles curling
CBC
Canada bolstered its chances of making the playoffs in mixed doubles curling at the Beijing Olympics with a dramatic victory on Sunday.
Rachel Homan and John Morris both made some fantastic shots late in the game to pull out a 7-5 extra end win over the Czech Republic's Tomas Paul and Zuzana Paulova.
Homan's clutch draw to score two in the eighth to force an extra end was the shot of the game.
"It was a big shot, but I think it was worse when I realized there were only two seconds left on the clock," Homan told CBC's Colleen Jones afterwards.
The top four nations from the 10-team field at the end of the round-robin advance to the semifinals. Italy has already qualified for the semis. Head-to-head records will serve as the tiebreaker if two nations are tied in the standings. Draw-to-the-button shootout totals come into play when more than two teams are tied.
Canada can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Australia later on Sunday.
"That was probably the most dramatic curling game I've ever been a part of. Those Czechs played so well, and I know how hard they work at this game. They threw everything at us. We thought we probably lost a few times, but you can never give up in this game. Just really proud of our squad for sticking at it and persevering," Morris said.
"We grabbed a win from the depths of defeat in that one. That was a wild one."
WATCH | Clutch shots in extra end steals win for Canada's Homan, Morris:
Homan's raise shot with Canada's final stone prevented the Czechs from scoring two, and instead forced them to settle for one in the opening end. Homan's draw shot under pressure with the hammer in the next end allowed Canada to score one and tie things up.
The Czechs picked up one in the third, but Canada replied with a single in the fourth end via Homan's take-out with the hammer. It was a let-off for the Czechs, though, as Homan had a hit for two available to her.
Some fantastic sweeping by Morris on Homan's final stone of the fifth end allowed Canada to steal one and take its first lead of the game.
The Czechs cashed in on its one power play to score two in the sixth end and take a 4-3 lead after Paulova's takeout with the hammer. Canada chose to give up a steal of one in the seventh to go down 5-3 but keep the hammer for the eighth end.
The tactic worked, as Homan made a clutch draw for two in the eighth to tie things up at 5-5 and force an extra end.
