Canada reaches gold medal game vs. Britain in Olympic men's curling - ESPN

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — After a rocky two weeks of Olympic curling that included accusations of cheating and a profanity-laced rant, the Canadian men will play for the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games.

Canada beat Norway 5-4 in Thursday night's semifinals after losing to the Norwegians earlier in the day.

The Canadians were the subject of a controversy that got attention far beyond the ice when several players were accused of double-touching the rock, a rules violation.

Canada's opponent in Saturday's gold medal game will be Britain, which stunned Switzerland 8-5. The Swiss were undefeated entering the semifinals.

Norway will play Switzerland for the bronze medal Friday.

Canadians rally after controversy

The sport was sent into turmoil last week when Oskar Eriksson of Sweden accused Canada's Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice. Kennedy responded with an outburst full of expletives.

Several other accusations of double-touching followed, and Canada lost its next match against Switzerland before steadying itself to reach the semifinals.

Against Norway, Canada led 3-1 after the sixth end. Norway tightened the score with a single in the eighth. Canada went ahead 4-2 in the ninth.

Norway had the hammer in the tenth end. After a shot by Brad Jacobs that left a Norway stone on the edge of the house, Norway pulled a double, tying the match at 4-4 and pushing it into an extra end.

But Norway missed its final shot of the extra end to send the elated Canadians to the final. They are seeking their first gold in men's curling since the 2014 Sochi Games, where Britain was also their opponent in the final.

Knowing that Canada is guaranteed a medal is a