The mixed doubles curling moved into high gear at the 2022 Winter Olympics as teams jockeyed for playoff positioning at the Ice Cube.
Wins for Norway, a first victory for Australia, another triumph for Italy and Canada highlighted the session. Team USA and Great Britain sat the session out.
Norway 6, Sweden 2
On Sheet A, the team of Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten took a big step towards qualification for the playoffs as the Norwegians dominated Sweden.
Norway took charge early, scoring two in the first end. At the halftime break, Skaslien and Nedregotten saw their lead trimmed to just 3-2 by the Swedish duo of Almida de Val and Oskar Eriksson.
On her last shot, Skaslien played a perfect hit and stay to place her stone in between four Swedish rocks to score a point and single steals in the sixth and seventh ends sent Norway to 4-3.
"It was basically win or no chance for (the) playoffs", Skaslien said. ""We need two more wins as well now, so we have to keep fighting. We had a really good game there."
Nedregotten added "we had some good draw shots today and really consistent draw weight. Kristin was skipping on her top level and I was playing good shots. It was just a total performance."
Sweden drops to 5-3, but is still in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Australia 9, Switzerland 6
It took eight games, but Australia finally has its first-ever win in curling as the team of Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt stunned the reigning silver medalists from Switzerland.
The Aussies started strongly, scoring two in the first end and stealing another in the second to build an early lead. Switzerland (2-5) hit back, scoring once in the third and stealing three in the fourth as Gill just missed.
In the fifth, Gill just missed on an attempted takeout, leaving two Swiss stones in the house to give Jenny Perret and Martin Rios a 6-3 advantage.
The Australians opted for their power play in the sixth and Gill played a cross-house double take-out to score three points and level the game at 6-6.
In the seventh end, Perret hit with her last stone but rolled too far, giving Australia a steal of two and an 8-6 lead and they scored another in the eighth to seal history.
"Our emotions going into that were that we were just so grateful to be out there to do what we love", Gill said. "I think we just put our heart and soul into that game and to come back with a win and finish our campaign on a positive note feels really awesome."
Italy 8, China 4
Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner continued their impressive play, running their record to 7-0 as they knocked off hosts China on Sheet C.
Opening the match with three points in the first end set the tone and they held a 5-1 lead after four.
Fan SuYuan and Ling Zhi got three in the fifth before single points in the sixth, seventh and eighth confirmed another win for the Italians.
Canada 7, Czech Republic 5 (9 ends)
In a back-and-forth contest on Sheet D, Canada kept their playoff hopes alive as they outlasted the Czech Republic in an extra end.
Single points in the first four ends, with two for each team left the game finely balanced heading into the second half.
The defending Olympic champions stole a point in the fifth when Zuzana Paulova couldn't properly execute a hit-and-stay, but they got two in the sixth on their power play.
Trailing by two going into the eighth end, Rachel Homan played a perfect draw to the button to send the match to a ninth end where Paulova couldn't dislodge two Canadian stones.
The Czech Republic falls to 3-5 and is eliminated from medal contention.