Canada's wheelchair curling team clinches semifinal spot with win over Norway

Canada's wheelchair curling team has clinched a semifinal berth at the Beijing Paralympics by defeating Norway 7-6 with a clutch final throw on Thursday in China.

After being tied up at 2-2 through four ends, Norway took a 5-2 lead with a solid fifth end.

Canada was able to close the gap in the sixth, making it 5-4, but after Norway added one more in the seventh, the pressure was on the Canadians.

Fourth Jon Thurston, of Dunsford, Ont., tasked with making a much-needed play on the final stone, threw a take-out that put three points on the board for Canada and earned them the victory.

"I have a good team in front of me," Thurston said. "Ina [Forrest] made a pair of beauty shots in front of me to set up the end for me, before I threw. Mark [Ideson] calls a great game. He knows where to put the broom, so all I have to do is throw the weight and hit the broom, so it's pretty good."

WATCH | Canada secures semifinal berth with clutch play against Norway:

The win wraps up Canada's 7-3 round robin campaign, which started with a four-game winning streak against defending champions China, then Switzerland, Latvia and the U.S.

Canada then went on a three-game skid versus Sweden, South Korea and Slovakia before bouncing back with victories over Great Britain, Estonia and Norway.

With some time off before the semifinals, the top priority for the Canadians will be rest and recovery.

"I think it's prioritizing our rest and recovery," Thurston said. "It's been a long week, [we've played] 10 games, so trying to catch up on some rest and food and nutrition and then preparing for what the playoff picture looks like."

Both wheelchair curling semifinals will be played on Friday at 1:35 a.m. ET.

Slovakia, currently in the fourth spot with a