Team Tardi is triumphant.
In an extra end during play Saturday, Canadian skip Tyler Tardi snatched the gold medal from Team Scotland on their home ice in Aberdeen to win the World Junior Curling Championships.
Now that their home again, Tardi said it is starting to sink in that Team Canada won… that they’re champions.
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“Thank you to everyone for your kind words of congratulations, for the amazing support we received not just at world’s, but throughout our season,” he said, inundated with messages.
The final score was 6-5 for Canada, in a close game. And the team, on its Facebook page described the entire experience, especially the win as mind-blowing.
“Well we did it. World junior curling champs. It is absolutely surreal,” they said.
Tardi and his Langley-based team of third Sterling Middleton, second Jordan Tardi, lead Zachary Curtis, and alternate Jacques Gauthier delivered Canada the gold medal at the world during an extra end.
The Scottish team, helmed by Ross Whyte, was undefeated going into the gold-medal game, with a pro-Scottish crowd packing the stands.
“They’re all great shooters on that team. Hats off to them,” Tardi said of the Scots. “They made a really big comeback, so good on them. They made a lot of shots and made us really work for it.”
While the Scots had home ice advantage and the huge audience support, Team Tardi was grateful for their dedicated followers.
“To our friends and family, thank you for the unconditional support throughout the season. You guys rocked. The cheering for #TeamCanada. You were a small fivesome, but loud and proud and we appreciated you keeping us in the game, even when the going got tough,” he elaborated.
“I don’t know, I’ve been dreaming about this moment,” said Tardi, who returned to the world championship this year after not making the playoffs in 2017.
“To finally have it come true is unbelievable. I can’t believe I’m standing here.”
Canada, with coaches Paul Tardi and team leader/coach Melissa Soligo, immediately celebrated, posing with the flag.
Asked how he felt immediately following the win, Tardi was having trouble finding the words.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling. I don’t even know how long I’ve been dreaming about this moment and to finally have it come true is unbelievable,” the skip said.
“It’s unbelievable I’m standing here right now (as world junior champion).”
Team Tardi is a two-time Canadian junior champ and now world gold medalist.
“They’ve been working so hard all season. There’s not better four guys to do this with,” Tardi added of his teammates. “I’m just over the moon right now.”
Without hammer to start the game, Canada had Scotland in trouble on several occasions.
After a blank first end, Scotland was forced to one in the second.
A chance for four or five in the third end went awry as skip Tardi’s tap-back wrecked on a guard up front and he had to settle for just one.
Down 2-1 at the break, Tardi came back for a three-ender in the sixth and a steal of one in the seventh to take control, although he didn’t feel that way.
“They’re all great shooters on that team. Hats off to them,” Tardi said of the Scots. “They made a really big comeback, so good on them. They made a lot of shots and made us really work for it.”
Up 5-2, his take-out in the ninth flashed for a Scotland deuce and Tardi’s draw to the four foot for the win in the 10th was heavy as Whyte tied it at 5-5 with a steal of one.
Tardi redeemed himself in the extra end with the draw to the four foot, with some backing, but behind a Scottish guard for the win.
Middleton and Jordan were strong throughout the game, out-scoring their opponents by 12 and 13 percentage points, respectively, as the Scots were out-played badly at those middle positions for most of the day.
In the end, it was the second golden moment of the day for Canada, which struggled at the Olympics in Pyeongchang and went medal-less.
Not in Aberdeen, however.
Kaitlyn Jones’s Nova Scotia team also claimed the gold in junior women’s play.
It was Canada’s 19th world junior men’s title, and 12th world junior women’s title.
The 2019 World Junior Curling Championships will take place Feb. 17-24 in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.
Click this to view the full men’s final game.
