Team Homan in the driver’s seat with another comfortable curling victory
What a difference a few days has made for Team Homan at PyeongChang 2018.
Many thought that Canada’s hopes of reaching the podium in women’s curling were done and dusted on Day 7, after Rachel Homan’s rink put up their third straight loss to begin round-robin play.
But with an 8-3 victory over Japan in just seven ends on Day 10, the Canadians have brought their record back to 3-3, and are suddenly looking a lot more like the medal contenders that they came into these Games as.
Canada’s skip Rachel Homan delivers a shot as they face Switzerland during preliminary round in women’s curling at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Gangneung, South Korea, on Sunday, February 18, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)
Against Japan on Day 10, some good shot-making from all four members of the Canadian team—Homan, Emma Miskew, Joanne Courtney and Lisa Weagle—had them set up for a potential big steal in the first end. But a good draw by Japanese skip Satsuki Fujisawa limited the damage to a steal of just one for Canada.
Team Homan continued out-performing their opponent in the second end, as Fujisawa was facing three Canadian stones when she delivered the hammer. But a well-executed hit and roll got the job done to score one and even the score.
After a blanked third end, Team Homan added another point in the fourth to go up 2-1. In the fifth, Canada once again clogged up the house, with four stones sitting inside the 8-foot as Fujisawa threw her final stone. This time, the Japanese skip couldn’t find her way out of it, as she hit a guard and Canada stole four to go up 6-1.
Japan looked like they could be poised to take all four back in the sixth, as they were lying three as Homan threw her final stone. But the Canadian skip moved two Japanese stones and limited Fujisawa to just a pair of points.
Team Canada’s skip Rachel Homan reacts to a shot during round-robin action against Denmark at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Korea, Friday, February 16, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO – COC – Jason Ransom)
Homan again out-dueled her counterpart in the seventh end, setting up her team with two more points and an 8-3 lead that the Japanese clearly considered insurmountable, as they chose to shake hands and call it a day.
The next two Canadian draws at PyeongChang will feature Kevin Koe’s men’s rink, who face the United States at 12:05 a.m. ET Monday (9:05 p.m. PT Sunday), then Japan (7:05 p.m. ET/4:05 p.m. PT Monday). Team Homan gets back at it against China at 12:05 a.m. ET Tuesday (9:05 p.m. PT Monday).
