By Kevin Snow
It was a relatively quiet weekend for curling’s European contingent, as only a pair of teams ventured north to take part in the third edition of the Henderson Metal Fall Classic in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Italy’s Team Joel Retornaz qualified for their second championship final of the season, ultimately falling 8-5 to Team Daniel Casper of the United States.
Retornaz posted a record of 3-1 in the 18-team qualifying round, comprised mainly of teams from Canada. Following wins over Canada’s Team Alex Champ and Team Reid Carruthers, Retornaz fell 8-3 to another Canadian squad in Team John Epping. Retornaz then knocked off Switzerland’s Team Marco Hösli in consecutive games, including a 5-2 decision in the quarterfinals.
The semifinals produced a rematch between Retornaz and Epping, with the Italian side exacting some revenge with a 6-3 victory. Retornaz held a 5-3 lead over Casper after six ends in the championship, but the American rink stormed back with five in the final two ends to take the title.
Team Hösli finished 4-2 in the qualifying round before having their weekend come to an end in the quarterfinal loss to Retornaz. Hösli recorded wins over three Canadian teams — Team Michael Fournier, Team Jordan Chandler and Team Nathan Young — along with a 5-3 victory over Team Jong-duk Park from South Korea.
Next up for Retornaz and Hösli is a trip to the KIOTI GSOC Tahoe, the first-ever international Grand Slam of Curling tournament, set for Nov. 4-9 at the Tahoe Blue Event Center in Lake Tahoe, Nev.
Retornaz opens the week in Draw 2 on Nov. 4 against Team Rylan Kleiter from Canada. Kleiter defeated Retornaz 7-6 in their only other meeting this season at the Trentino World Cup in August.
Hösli will face a familiar foe in fellow countrymen Team Yannick Schwaller when they get things started in Draw 4 on Nov. 4. This will be a rematch of the Baden Masters final when Hösli came out on top 5-3.
On the women’s side, Team Rebecca Morrison of Scotland will make their first appearance in a Tier 1 Grand Slam event this season in Lake Tahoe. Morrison has a record of 18-7 across four events this season and has advanced to a pair of championship games.
