Canada wins bronze at World Men’s Curling Championship

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It wasn’t the colour they were hoping for, but Team Canada still came away with a medal at the BKT World Men’s Curling Championship in Moose Jaw.

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After their gold medal hopes were dashed on Saturday in a semifinal loss to Bruce Mouat and Team Scotland, the Canadians — featuring skip Brad Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert — responded in a big way as they crushed China 11-2 in Sunday’s bronze medal game.

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“We wanted to win,” Jacobs told media following the match. “We wanted to come out of this strong, hold our heads high, get ourselves on the podium, do it for ourselves, do it for the fans and we were able to do that today.

“I’m really proud of us … We wanted to end this season with the four of us on a winning note. We were able to do that and it feels great.”

After opening the game with three points in the first end, it was clear Canada meant business in front of 3,270 fans inside the Temple Gardens Centre.

Following a blank in the second, Canada limited China to a single point in the third before Jacobs and company scored five in the fourth end to go up 8-1.

Canada then stole two points in the next end before the teams played out the next three draws before shaking hands after eight ends.

“This was 10 out of 10,” said Hebert, who was appearing in his fifth world championship with two golds and two silvers on his resume coming in. “Probably the best worlds I’ve ever participated in and we got third.

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“I’ve never finished third in a worlds before so it’s a new feeling, but I’ll tell you what, third feels better than second.”

It’s the first bronze medal for a Canadian team since the 2015 world championships in Halifax when Pat Simmons and his squad finished third. Canada has not won a gold medal since Brad Gushue claimed victory in 2017, although Gushue led Canada to three straight silver medals from 2022-24.

Overall, it’s the 25th bronze medal for Canada since the tournament began. The Canadians also have 61 gold and 29 silver for 115 total medals, which ranks first all-time. Team Sweden, the 2024 champions who will be off the podium this year after a loss to Scotland in the qualifier match, sits second with 69 all-time medals.

tshire@postmedia.com

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