Canada’s Gushue downs the Netherlands to improve to 6-1 at world curling playdowns

SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland — Canada’s Brad Gushue scored a 7-4 win over Wouter Goesgens of the Netherlands at the world men’s curling championship on Wednesday.

Gushue scored a pair in the opening end and stole a single in the second to take an early lead he would never relinquish. He added a single in the sixth end, a deuce in the eighth and one more in the 10th to seal the win.

With the victory, Gushue and his St. John’s, N.L.-based team of Mark Nichols, E.J. Harnden and Geoff Walker improved to 6-1, securing a hold on second place in the 13-team round-robin standings. The Netherlands fell to 2-5.

Also in Wednesday’s early draw, six-time champion Niklas Edin of Sweden (7-0) maintained a one-game buffer on Canada with a 7-5 win over Joel Retornaz of Italy (4-3).