2nd Tournament, 2nd Tournament Win

Last week, we competed in the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard in Canada. On Monday, we flew to Toronto and then travelled on to Oakville, where we spent the week.

To adjust to the time difference as quickly as possible, we used the first three days for intensive training. Alongside running and gym sessions, we had one or two sessions on the ice each day. This helped us adapt well to the conditions and develop a good feel for the ice.

The tournament was played in a triple-knockout format, meaning that a team was eliminated after its third loss before the playoffs. As the second-highest ranked team, we received a bye in the first round.

In our first game (second round), we started very well and were in control for most of the match. However, in the final end we made too many mistakes, gave up a steal of two, and narrowly lost the game. This moved us from the A-Road to the B-Road.

We won all four of our following games and qualified for the quarterfinals through the B-Final. By winning our games on the B-Road, we were able to avoid additional matches and save some valuable energy.

In the quarterfinal, we faced Team Howard from Canada and secured the win with a strong performance. We also delivered a very solid performance in the semifinal against fellow Swiss team Hürlimann and booked our place in the final.

This put us in the final once again – and once again, our opponent was Team Schwaller. It was a very close game, with Team Schwaller holding a slight advantage for much of the match. In the end, however, we managed to edge out the win and celebrate our second tournament victory of the season.

The victory was valuable to us in more than one way: the tournament was also a qualifying event for a Grand Slam in December. By winning the event, we secured a direct spot in the Slam and also collected important points in the race for qualification for the European Championships.