1973 Air Canada Silver Broom
| 1973 Air Canada Silver Broom | |
|---|---|
| Host city | Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Arena | Regina Exhibition Stadium |
| Dates | March 19–24, 1973 |
| Winner | Sweden |
| Curling club | Djursholms CK, Stockholm |
| Skip | Kjell Oscarius |
| Third | Bengt Oscarius |
| Second | Tom Schaeffer |
| Lead | Boa Carlman |
| Finalist | Canada (Harvey Mazinke) |
« 1972 1974 » | |
The 1973 Air Canada Silver Broom was held at the Regina Exhibition Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada from March 19–24, 1973. The tournament was won by Sweden, with a team from Djursholms CK.
Sweden, skipped by Kjell Oscarius upset the hometown Canada rink, skipped by Harvey Mazinke in the final, 6–5 in an extra end in front 4,600 spectators. The Mazinke rink had went into the final with a 35–1 record over the season, including an undefeated record at the Silver Boom up until that point. In the game, Mazinke got off to a good start by stealing singles in the first and second ends to take a 2–0 lead. Mazinke stole in the first by making a half-freeze to a Canadian stone. Oscarius was wide on his hit, and only took out one Canadian rock. In the second, Mazinke made a double takeout to sit one on his last, while Oscarius was light on his draw. Sweden replied by scoring singles in the next five straight ends to go up 5–2. In the third, Oscarius was under pressure on his last, thanks to misses by teammates Boa Carlman and Tom Schaeffer which resulted in Canada sitting three. Oscarius found his draw weight though, and put his rock in the four-foot to get his single. Ice conditions then began to deteriorate, and was blamed for Mazinke missing hits in the fourth and fifth ends, and hitting a guard in the sixth to give up steals. Canada recovered after the seventh, scoring singles in the next three ends, tying the game at 5 after ten ends. In the eighth, Canada third Bill Martin made a made a "sensational" hit and roll behind cover, which set up Canada for the possibility of scoring three. On his last Mazinke needed a runback of a Canada stone to hit a Swedish rock to get three, but the raised rock hit a Canada rock instead. In the ninth, Oscarius started having his own troubles with the ice, and missed a takeout on his last to give up a point. The troubles continued in the tenth when he came up light on a draw on his last, which gave Canada the typing point. In the extra end, Sweden third Bengt Oscarius helped his team out by making a double takeout to sit one. On his last, Mazinke attempted to draw to the house against a Swedish counter, but it died near the hogline, giving Sweden the win. Ice conditions were blamed for the loss, with the Regina Leader-Post reporting that in the extra end, the ice "was at its worst since [the] opening afternoon".