Canada’s Jacobs tunes up for playoffs with win over Italy’s Retornaz at Winter Games

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – Amos Mosaner threw his water bottle on the coach’s bench after a critical miss. Italian teammate Sebastiano Arman kicked a rock against the bumper so hard he flipped the stone over. 

Brad Jacobs left his opponents frustrated and discouraged on Wednesday after an 8-3 Canada victory that left the host team on the playoff bubble with one game remaining. 

“Italy melted down, and we were able to get that win,” Jacobs said. 

A four-point steal in the sixth end gave Canada a 7-3 lead. Italian skip Joel Retornaz missed a cross-house double-takeout in the seventh, and the teams shook hands. 

The victory gave Canada hammer in its semifinal game on Thursday night and left Italy (4-4) in a dogfight to make the four-team playoff cut.

Jacobs and his Calgary-based side of Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert will finish second in the round-robin standings after improving to 7-1. 

“When the other team is showing their frustration, that’s when we start to feel like we’ve got them,” Jacobs said. 

A round-robin finale against Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell in the morning will be Canada’s last playoff tune-up.

Italy took a 3-0 lead when Jacobs had his rock roll out after a double-takeout in the third end. Canada rebounded with a deuce in the fourth and was gifted another point when Retornaz ticked a blank attempt. 

“We started to get a few breaks and the back end was making some big shots,” Gallant said. “All of a sudden, it turned in our favour.”

Both teams shot 83 per cent, but Retornaz struggled at 63 per cent, including just 50 per cent on draws.

“We missed a lot of shots,” said Italian national coach Marco Mariani. “That performance was not good enough in the sixth end and we (gave) away the game. That’s it, no more than that.”

Mosaner was wide with a double-takeout attempt in the sixth, removing his own stones from play and leaving Canada sitting three. 

Retornaz tried a draw to salvage something, but wrecked on a guard. 

Italian coach Ryan Fry tried to get his skip refocused before the seventh end, banging his hand on the bench for full effect. A near-sellout crowd was also in full voice, but nothing could get the players going.

“They’ve been in the game for so long, so have I, and I think everybody needs to react the way they want to in order to be ready for tomorrow’s game,” said Retornaz, who made his Olympic debut in 2006 at the Turin Games. “So, no problem about any reactions. I’m cool.”

It was the fourth straight victory for the Canadians, who are ranked fifth in the world.

“Honestly, 12 months ago, we lose that game 95 per cent of the time. Absolutely,” said Canadian coach Paul Webster. “So the ability to stay in that game was tremendous.”

Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller (8-0) defeated Norway 10-4 to remain unbeaten. Top-ranked Bruce Mouat of Great Britain dumped American Daniel Casper 9-2 to move into third place at 5-4.

Italy and Norway were tied at 4-4 while the Americans fell to 4-5.

Jacobs was the last Canadian skip to win men’s team gold at the Games. He was victorious at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.