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LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Canada skip Kevin Koe organized an excellent shooting clbad at the men's world curling championship, offering a host of brilliant shots that helped his team reach the final.
A magical in-off. Triple take-away clutches. Even a rare take away.
After two exciting wins from a playoff point a day earlier, Koe could not pull out again at the biggest game of the competition on Sunday night. Sweden's Niklas Edin kept up the pressure and did not stop until he won a 7-2 win and his fourth career world title.
"It's bad, we wanted to win so much and it's very disappointing," said Koe. "We're pretty deflated." After the eighth (end) day, we felt very bad – a two-man flight was disappointing, but it's a great team.
Edin took three more points in the ninth end when Koe's desperate attempt for a four-way out was slightly out of the way.
"It's amazing." Edin said. "It's probably the sweetest victory of my career, we've never played better than that for an event.
"We had the impression of dominating the whole week."
Edin won the first seed in the round robin standings with a 11-1 record and quickly dominated the 8-2 semifinal win over Japan.
He launched 90% in the final at 78% for Koe. Sweden finished at 92% and Canada at 86%.
"When we had this two-man flight, we all knew we were going to win this game," Edin said. "It was amazing and so emotional."
Players had to wait several minutes before they could repair the handle of one of Edin's stones.
"Honestly, I've never been so nervous all my life," Edin said. "It was not a welcome delay."
He reconcentra and made a double exit to sit down to three.
"I was just trying to clear my head, slip, technically make a good shot (with) a good slide," Edin said. "It worked, a little luck there."
Koe, meanwhile, had to play a slower shot on an uncertain ice. His draw did not allow Sweden to take two points in advance.
"It's a shame what happened there before Kevin's draw," said Canada's Ben Hebert. "It's a bit of a joke. A delay of 12 minutes on this handle and the ice remained sitting. Kevin started the match perfectly, the time is exactly as we wanted. All week was a bit like that.
"Then we just lost a bit just because the freeze started to seep in. Too bad, but they played well, they deserved to win, obviously a good championship team."
Third Swede Oskar Eriksson made an excellent double out in the ninth end and Canada could not recover.
"They managed each shot until the end," Koe said. "We needed a defeat and at the end of the day we run all the risks, we do not play to keep it close to the goal."
Edin beat Canada's Brad Gushue in the Las Vegas World Final last year to avenge a loss to St. John's, N.L., a year earlier in Edmonton.
Edin's first world crown was won in 2013 and he won again in 2015.
Earlier Sunday, Switzerland's Peter De Cruz defeated Japan's Yuta Matsumura 8-4 to win the bronze medal. De Cruz took the lead with four points in the seventh and stole singles in the next two ends for the win.
After two whites at the start of the final, Canada was in danger of giving up four points in the third end, but managed to steal a single one when Edin got stuck in a double attempt.
Koe hit a heavyweight double and drove to the shelter before following with a nice defense. He maintained the pressure in the fourth quarter with a knock behind a corner corner. Edin was forced to shoot for one.
Koe did not have to draw until he had the hammer for the first time in fifth. His first throw was slightly behind, but his second draw allowed the four-foot ring to take a 2-1 lead.
The Calgary skip made his way to center Enmax Center in the sixth end with a double outing to three. Edin was forced to shoot for a single tied.
"The support has been great," said Koe. "It's just too bad we can not win for them."
Koe made another double in the seventh end to get a white and keep the hammer.
"They are really hard to beat," Edin said. "We had the chance to change this game."
Koe, Ben Hebert in the lead, Colton Flasch and B.J. Neufeld are in their first season at four.
The silver medal ended a series of tough results for Canada's four-player teams at major events.
Koe, who won the world titles in 2010 and 2016, did not reach the podium at the Pyeongchang Olympics last year. The Canadian women's team led by Rachel Homan also did not win a medal at the Games.
Canada's Chelsea Carey missed the World Women's Championship Playoffs last month in Silkeborg, Denmark. Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni beat Sweden's Anna Hbadelborg in the final.
Edin beat Koe 9 to 4 in the preliminary round earlier in the week. Canada was the third seeded of a group of six playoff teams including also the United States and Scotland.
Italy, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, China, Norway and South Korea have missed the cut.
The total attendance for the nine-day event was 69,077. The Enmax Center has a capacity of approximately 4,500 people.
The 2020 Men's World Championship will be held in Glasgow, Scotland.
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