Photo: Canadian Press
Östersund, Sweden – Facing a second straight loss at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, Canadians Kadriana and Colton Lott continued their efforts and went “downbeat.”
Team Lotus is on the verge of securing a place in the qualifiers after defeating China 10-4 on Wednesday in a match that was turned upside down after their early struggles.
The husband-and-wife team from Gimli, Man., were down 4-2 through four ends to China's Ying Yang and Jiafeng Tian, but they bounced back in the second half, putting the game away by stealing four goals in the eighth end.
“We knew we had to stick it out and keep our minds and our heads in the game,” Kadriana Lott said. “In the last half of the game, we just had to get rid of the first two and move on; we knew we could still win it.”
The Lotts improved to 6-1 and needed one win in their final two group stage games on Thursday to advance to the playoff round.
It didn't look promising earlier for the Canadiens, whose unbeaten record was shattered by Sweden in a late draw on Tuesday.
China responded (3-4) to Canadian singles in the first half, and the third ended in a draw in the second and fourth.
In the fifth period, Canada wasted the opportunity to take the lead when the tie was heavy at three and the Lotus team settled for one point.
Colton Lott said the Canadiens needed to “be feisty out there,” and they responded with three straight steals.
Canada took advantage of some Chinese errors to record the tying steal in the sixth end. They followed by stealing two in the seventh before their big eighth finish.
“That's what you have to do in any discipline (curling), and (mixed doubles) for sure because you only have so many rocks you can come back with,” Colton Lott said. “If you keep your head back there (focusing on the previous mistakes), it becomes really difficult to get it back like we just did.”
Canada remained in second place in Group B behind host Sweden, which improved to 7-0 and clinched a playoff spot with a 7-6 win over Australia.
The Lotus team will play Australia (2-5) and the United States (4-3) on Thursday.
“Just getting the last two wins, I think it puts us in a great mindset and gets us ready for the weekend,” Kadriana Lott said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2024.
