USA hit hard — even Snoop Dogg gave it the nod: a tense North American derby
There are games that feel like breathing exercises. You breathe in, you breathe out, then realise you’ve been holding your breath for ages. Friday’s USA–Canada mixed doubles in Milano Cortina was one of those. A small, icy madness — a tug-of-war that had the whole arena, Snoop Dogg included, buzzing with electric tension.
On the ice, Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse never quite grabbed full control, but they never let go either. Opposite them, Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman played like the noisy neighbors you love to hate. The score crawled along, awkward and stubborn. 4 4 after six ends — proof the match still hadn’t found its pivot.
The powerplay that changed it
Then came the moment every team prays for. A perfectly-timed powerplay. A tactical window too good to pass up. Thiesse — calm all night — produced the shot of the evening. Clean line, surgical accuracy, the Canadian rock booted out of the house like the ice moved aside. Three points. The crowd erupted. Dropkin pumped his fist as if the two hours of held breath finally left his lungs.
Final 7 5. A win that matters. A win that smells of qualification, and in a derby that always counts for a bit more.
After the match Dropkin admitted the atmosphere could fray the nerves. Snoop Dogg — standing, shades on, grin a mile wide — wasn’t exactly low-key. Nor were the American fans, loud as an NBA crowd. Dropkin laughed: sometimes that outside madness helps you lock in. You float for a beat, then you throw like it matters. Fragile balance. It works.
Italy wakes up — and how
Earlier it looked like the defending champs had gone off the boil. Thursday’s loss to Canada left doubt. Then Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner reminded everyone who they are. Down 4 3 to Switzerland, they flipped the match like someone upturning a table mid-argument. Four in the fourth, three in the fifth, two in the sixth. A steamroller. Final 12 4, and Switzerland conceded before the end.
The message is blunt: never write off Italy too early.
Great Britain rolls on
Meanwhile Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat kept up their little recital. A tidy 7 4 win over Swedish duo Rasmus and Isabella Wranaa. Four games, four wins. Calm control, the feel of a side already in cruise. Mouat sums it up: they’re playing well, having fun, and building momentum.
What’s next? Five more round-robin games, more traps, more moments everything can flip. But this Friday — a perfect powerplay, a revived Olympic champ, and a legendary rapper at the side — curling did what it does best: turned ice into pure electricity. Storyline, tempo, tension. The sort of thing that makes you forget you came to watch rocks slide on frozen water.
Credit : photo by Getty Images
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