Canada gets by USA, 8-7

Allison Pottinger and Team USA showed that they came to play as they took the Canadian national champs to the final stone before coming up short in an 8-7 loss tonight at the 2012 Ford World Women's Championship.

Things were looking very promising for Team USA through seven ends at the Enmax Centre but the luck o' the Irish was shining down on Canada's Heather Nedohin rink on today's St. Patrick holiday.

"Really it came down to an error in the eighth end," said Pottinger, who moved to the U.S. from at age 18. "If we get our one there in the eighth end it's 5-5 going into the ninth against Team Canada. We're more than happy with that. You know, even as it was, she had to throw her last rock. No, it wasn't the hardest shot in the whole wide world to do a 3-foot runback, but she had to throw it and we made her make it. We're not ashamed by any means. We're ready to come back out."

Pottinger (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and teammates Nicole Joraanstad (Verona, Wis.), Natalie Nicholson (Bemidji, Minn.) and Tabitha Peterson (Eagan, Minn.) won the opening end battle between the Canadians and the Americans by forcing Nedohin to come around the center guard and make a takeout of the U.S. stone in the back of the four-foot. Team Canada was hoping for a roll to blank the end but didn't have enough weight on the delicate takeout and scored one.

To read the complete press release, click on the PDF below.