Europe and Canada split scrambles but Europeans hold 13-5 Continental Cup lead

LONDON, Ont. — Although Calgary’s Kevin Koe finally got the Canadian men on the board after a 3-3 tie with Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz on Friday night, Canada still trailed Team Europe 13-5 at curling’s Continental Cup.

In other games, Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg continued with her unblemished record with a decisive 7-1 win over Calgary’s Chelsea Carey and Scotland’s Bruce Mouat edged Toronto’s John Epping 4-3.

Mouat gets the sense that Europe’s team spirit is continuing to win the day.

“We’re enjoying ourselves and we’ve got really strong teams with Peter and his guys and Nik (Edin of Sweden),” said Mouat. “With those guys, it’s really easy to get on with them and it’s a really good team dynamic. I can’t really tell you why it’s been happening.”

During this game, Mouat had to scramble hard after falling behind 3-1 after four ends. But the Scot pitched a shutout the rest of the way, scoring his dramatic win with steals in the final two ends.

The Continental Cup format pits Team Canada against Team Europe in a series of team play, mixed doubles, scrambles and skins games.

Teams earn points by winning games and the first to score 30.5 points is declared the champion.

The first team to reach 30.5 points will win. Play continues through Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2020.

The Canadian Press