Switzerland 8, ROC 7
Three stolen points in the eighth end were ultimately enough to give Switzerland an 8-7 win over the team from the Russian Olympic Committee Friday during Session 3.
Friday’s game was a rematch of the gold medal game from the 2021 World Championships, which Switzerland also won.
Switzerland improved to 3-0 with the tie, and stayed tied with Team USA (3-0) at the top of the overall standings.
ROC couldn’t complete a cross-house double takeout on the final throw of the first end, allowing Switzerland to land a draw and score two points early in Friday’s round-robin game.
In the sixth, ROC had a draw shot to lie two on their final stone, and Switzerland’s hammer throw was much too light to get into the 4-foot, allowing ROC to steal two for a 4-3 lead.
Switzerland answered with two points in the seventh and a steal of three more in the eighth to go up 8-4.
ROC scored two in the ninth and lied two in the tenth that would have tied the score. Switzerland’s Alina Paetz hammer throw took one out though, causing ROC to suffer a 1-point loss.
The ROC will next play Korea at 8:05 p.m. ET Friday. Switzerland will take off the next session and will play Denmark at 7:05 a.m. ET Saturday.
Japan 8, Canada 5
Japan came away with a win over one of the women’s tournament favorites Friday after an 8-5 victory against Canada.
After allowing two in the second, Japan scored two of their own in the third and added a steal of one in each of the fourth and fifth ends to go into the break up 5-2.
Trailing by three in the sixth, Canada’s Jennifer Jones had a hit-and-roll for two to cut Japan’s lead to 5-4.
Japan responded with two in the seventh and scored another in the eighth for a 3-point lead.
Japan kept the house clean of Canadian rocks in the 10th, ultimately forcing Jones’s team to concede the end and the game with one rock remaining.
Canada will return to play Sweden at 8:05 p.m. ET Friday. At the same time, Japan will take on Denmark.
Korea 9, Great Britain 6
Korea’s “Sunshine Girls” picked up their first win of the Winter Olympics with a 9-6 victory over Great Britain.
Korea came into the 2022 Games as the defending Olympic silver medalists in women’s curling.
After giving up one in the first end, Korea got two points back in the second on a draw shot that landed just in front of their only rock on the house.
The Korean squad stole another in the fourth after their final rock hit another one of their stones into the house behind a host of other rocks for both squads. Great Britain’s hammer throw hit a guard and didn’t make it anywhere close to the inside to try and move Korea’s lying stone.
Great Britain got a takeout for two and tied the score at 3-3 at the end of the fifth.
With a one point lead, Korea was looking to add to that in the eighth, but a hogline violation by Eunjung Kim disallowed their final throw and gave Great Britain a steal of two and the 6-5 lead.
Korea made up for it in the ninth, placing four rocks on all sides of the house and getting a takeout on the hammer throw for four points and the lead back, 9-6, heading into the final end.
Great Britain was unable to keep any rocks in the house in the 10th, forcing a concession of the final rocks and giving Korea the win.
Korea will next play at 8:05 p.m. ET on Friday against the ROC. Great Britain will take the next session of play off and return for Session 5 at 7:05 a.m. ET Saturday to take on the United States.