SPORTS

Slopestyle bronze, men's hockey win highlight Day 9 in Pyeongchang

The Canadian Press Published Sunday, February 18, 2018 10:44AM EST

Alex Beaulieu-Marchand receives the bronze medal

Alex Beaulieu-Marchand of Canada receives the bronze medal for finishing in 3rd position in the men's ski slopestyle final at the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza during the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, in Pyeongchang, South Korea on February 18, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-COC, Vincent Ethier

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From men's slopestyle bronze to wins in both men's hockey and women's curling, here are five things to know from Day 9 of competition at the Pyeongchang Winter Games:

BEAULIEU-MARCHAND BRONZE -- Alex Beaulieu-Marchand couldn't even practise four days ago because of a bad back and injured left knee. But the Canadian freestyle skier overcame that to win bronze in the men's slopestyle competition. The 23-year-old from Quebec City scored 92.40 on his second run. It's a big improvement from his 12th place finish four years ago in Sochi.

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QUARTERFINALS BOUND -- Team Canada punched its ticket into the quarterfinals at the Winter Games by shutting out South Korea 4-0 in its round-robin finale. It didn't come easy, however, as the Canadians struggled for two periods to assert their superiority. Canada needed a win over the Koreans and the Finland-Sweden game in Group C to finish in regulation time to avoid delving into tiebreakers. The Canadians got just that as Sweden beat the Finns 3-1. They'll find out their quarterfinal opponent after Tuesday's qualifier between Finland and South Korea.

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TWO STRAIGHT -- Canada's women's curling team has won two straight draws at the Olympics. Rachel Homan scored three points in the ninth end and stole a single in the 10th for a 10-8 win over Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni. The Canadians improved to 2-3 with the victory and are in sixth place with the United States.

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COOLING OFF -- Kevin Koe and his Canadian men's curling team have cooled off after following four-straight wins to start the Winter Games. Koe's rink allowed four points in the opening end to fall 8-6 against Switzerland. The loss drops them to 4-2 and also tied them for second in the standings with the Swiss.

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FINAL FALL -- Olivier Rochon looked poised to medal in his Olympics debut. His jump and tricks in the men's aerials final appeared good, but a slight fall on his landing forced the Gatineau, Que., native off the podium. Rochon scored 98.11 to finish fifth. Oleksandr Abramenko gave Ukraine its third-ever gold medal by edging China's Jia Zongyang.