5 Team Canada things to watch this weekend: April 7-9
This long weekend, there are several tournaments for sports fans to get excited about.
The World Men’s Curling Championship will wrap up over the next few days in Ottawa, the preliminary round of the IIHF Women’s World Championship will continue in Brampton, plus the year’s first major in men’s golf — the Masters — is underway in Augusta, Georgia.
Here is what you’ll want to keep an eye on so you don’t miss Team Canada performances.
Curling
After starting last Saturday, the World Men’s Curling Championship will finish on Sunday. Skip Brad Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second E.J. Harnden, and lead Geoff Walker are at the worlds for a second straight year. They won silver last year, though at the time Harnden was the fifth/alternate on the squad.
Team Gushue has a 7-2 record heading into Thursday night’s game against Scotland at 7 p.m. ET. After reeling off five straight wins, the Canadians are well in the mix for one of the six playoff spots. On Friday, they’ll take on Turkey at 9 a.m. ET before concluding the round robin against the defending champions from Sweden at 7 p.m. ET.
If Team Canada is one of the top two teams in the standings after round robin play, they will advance directly to the semifinals. If they are ranked third to sixth, they will play in a qualification playoff game at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. The winners of the two qualification games move on to the semifinals at 7 p.m. ET. The medal matches will take place on Sunday, with the bronze game at 11 a.m. ET followed by the gold medal game at 4 p.m. ET.
All of Canada’s games will be broadcast by TSN.
Hockey
The IIHF World Women’s Championship got underway on Wednesday in Brampton, Ontario. Canada is looking for a third straight world title, having won the gold in 2021 and 2022.
In Group A, Team Canada defeated Switzerland 4-0 in its first round robin game on Wednesday night. In her first game with Team Canada since winning Olympic gold at Beijing 2022, Natalie Spooner scored the opening goal just four months after giving birth to son Rory in December. Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston, and Sarah Fillier scored Canada’s other goals.
The Canadians will face Czechia on Friday ay 7 p.m. ET followed by a game against Japan at the same time on Saturday. Canada’s final round robin match will come against the archrival Americans at 7 p.m. ET on Monday.
All five teams from higher-seeded Group A and the top three teams from lower-seeded Group B will advance to the playoffs. The quarterfinals will take place next Thursday, with the semifinals on Saturday. The gold medal game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aprl 16 with the bronze medal game earlier that day.
All of Canada’s games will be broadcast by TSN.
Golf
A record four Canadians are among the 88 golfers going after the prestigious green jacket at the Masters in August, Georgia. The tournament began on Thursday.
Corey Conners hopes to keep the momentum going after winning his second career PGA Tour title last weekend. He’s in good company in Augusta with his childhood friend and college and Olympic teammate Mackenzie Hughes also there, along with their idol Mike Weir. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Weir’s historic victory when he became the first Canadian man to win a golf major. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Adam Svensson is making his first Masters appearance.
TSN will have live coverage on streaming and broadcast through the final round on Sunday.
Water Polo
Canada’s men’s and women’s water polo teams have started on their pathway to qualification for Paris 2024. They are competing in the Pan Am Aquatics Championships in Bauru, Brazil. The top two teams in each tournament will earn a spot at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in July. That is where the first Olympic quota spots will be awarded.
Canada won all three of its matches in the women’s preliminary round. They defeated Argentina 19-6 on Monday, Brazil 16-12 on Tuesday, and Peru 26-2 on Wednesday. They have another date with Peru in the semifinal on Thursday afternoon. The final will take place on Friday.
There are just three teams in the men’s tournament. Canada won 13-12 over Brazil on Monday before dropping a game to Argentina by the same score. Canada will play Brazil again on Thursday evening and then Argentina again on Friday.
Road Cycling
On Sunday, one of the oldest races in road cycling will take place. Paris–Roubaix is a 257km one-day race, much of it taking place on cobblestones and other tough terrain. It is one of road cycling’s five Monuments, the most classic one-day races. Cyclists will travel north from just outside Paris to Robaix almost on the border with Belgium.
Olympians Guillaume Boivin and Derek Gee will be in the lineup for their pro team, Israel Premier Tech. Results from UCI World Tour events up to October 17, 2023 will count towards world rankings that will determine the number of Olympic quota spots for each country at Paris 2024.
