Typhoon upends Northern to reach final

TORONTO — Typhoon Curling Club will play for the inaugural Rock League championship.

Typhoon defeated Northern United during Sunday morning's semifinal match to secure a spot for the late afternoon final.

After Typhoon's Tori Koana and Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi won the mixed doubles game 6-5 over Kristin Skaslien and Yannick Schwaller, the pressure was on Northern's Robin Brydone to cover the pin and match Niklas Edin's precision draw to force a second round in the shootout of the men's game.

Brydone landed on the button, but came up a hair away from the pinhole as Typhoon won 5-4 to take the match and advance.

It was the third time the two franchises faced off at TMU Mattamy Athletic Centre during the debut season of the professional curling league. Northern swept Typhoon 3-0 Thursday in the round-robin stage, and the franchises split their mixed fours match 1-1 Saturday.

Sunday’s playoffs reverted to the round-robin format with men’s fours, women’s fours and mixed doubles, and the first franchise to win two of the games taking the match.  

Koana and Yamaguchi held the hammer coming home trailing by two in the mixed doubles game. They didn't need a miracle shot on their final rock, or even have to throw it for that matter, as they were already sitting shot stone on the pinhole for two points plus another rock nearby to count three when Skaslien crashed on her last.

Edin knew exactly what weight to throw in the shootout as he planted a draw right on the pinhole with his first skip stone in the seventh to sit two. Northern captain Bruce Mouat, who had the hammer down by one, attempted a runback, but hit it too thin and missed the mark. After Edin added a third shot stone in the house, Mouat made the angle raise hit on his last to score a single and push the game into a shootout.

Any player on the ice can throw the draw in the shootout, with Northern opting for vice skip Brydone to keep its chances alive.

The women's game ended in a draw after Typhoon's Anna Hasselborg scored a single in the seventh end to tie it 4-4 against Northern's Isabella Wranå. The two teams shook hands with the match already decided.

Up next

No. 1 seed Alpine Curling Club faces No. 4 Shield Curling Club in the other semifinal at 1 p.m. ET.