About 4,000 noisy fans shoehorned themselves into Memorial Gardens Friday night to cheer on one of the world's great rivalries...Canada against the USA, in the final game of the round robin section of the Ford World Women's Curling Championship.
Fans have drawn rave reviews from the competing teams all week about the atmosphere and energy they bring to the rink and the mood again was electric.
The match didn't disappoint either.
Canada came in at 11-0 while the U.S. was 6-5.
Team USA opened with one in the first, but Canadian skip Jennifer Jones quickly erased that in the second end. She played well in the morning win against Japan and continued her strong play in this game.
The crowd erupted as Jones threw a difficult angle raise to pop out an American stone on the button to score three in second to lead 3-1
But with Canada counting three in the third, American skip Jamie Sinclair, who grew up in Manotick, just outside of Ottawa. had just enough steam on her final rock to draw shot rock with just inches to spare.
Four was blanked but Jones struck for one in the fifth to lead 4-2.
It could have been handshakes in six as Sinclair, with last rock, faced Canada counting four. But Sinclair, unsteady with her draw weight early on, slid one to the four-foot to avoid catastrophe and climb to within one, before stealing another in seven to tie the game at four.
Jones, with pressure on and the hammer, made a delicate takeout to score three in the eighth to lead 7-4.
Sinclair replied with one in the ninth
In the tenth, Jones, with the U.S. counting two, threw takeout weight, removed both with the shooter staying around for a final score of 8-5, giving the team a perfect 12-0 record in the preliminary round.
Afterward, Jones told a media scrum that this game will stand out among her best memories.
"It was unbelievable. I can't remember a crowd being that loud for the entire game and have that electric atmosphere, and with the military being honoured tonight and singing O Canada, it just felt like a surreal moment. It's something I'll always remember."
Her vice, Kaitlyn Lawes said although the ice was a little tricky, it was a fun game to play.
"A lot of big shots were made out there. We were just trying to figure out what the ice was doing and try and manage the conditions. It was a full house, which was a ton of fun to play in front of and a fun game to play. It's truly an honour to play in front of such a great crowd."
See also: Canada's Jones wins playoff tuneups at women's world curling playdowns
The top six advanced to the semis. Canada and Sweden get byes while the four remaining teams will play qualification games Saturday morning. That matches the USA against Korea, and Russia against the Czechs.
Teams play for gold Sunday at 3 p.m. Semifinal losers will play for bronze at 10 a.m.
It was military appreciation night, with members carrying team nameplates for the opening anthem.
By the way, the 50-50 prize was $11,847.
