Brad Jacobs and Canada get pointed towards the podium at the Sochi Olympics

The momentum is building for the Canadian men's curling team. The pack is tightening in Olympic men's curling while Brad Jacobs and crew try to climb the ladder.

If yesterday's 7 - 4 win over Russia was all about finding their inner roar and then releasing it, Thursday's 7 - 6 victory against Denmark was all about proving that the roar was fit for tougher competition.

Denmark played along, too, which was helpful. A number of achingly close misses, partnered with a number of outright air balls, gave Canada the opportunities it needed to turn the screws a little. In the tenth, in a tie game, a couple of terrible Danish misses meant Jacobs had only to draw anywhere in the house for the winning point.

Canada forced Danish skip Rasmus Stjerne into shots for singles when he had hammer and, frustratingly, very little opportunity to convert deuces. That happened four times in this game to the 25 year old rising star, who turned the same trick on Canada in the eighth end, with a couple of superb shots of his own that had Jacobs hitting for a single.

Looked like there would be a fifth time, too, as Jacobs slid out for his final stone in nine. A routine tap of a Danish rock would have provided another force and a 6 - 5 lead for Canada heading home in the tenth. But, Jacobs clipped the guard and left Stjerne an easy hit for two to tie it up. Really, that was Jacobs' only faux pas of the game.

Canadian vice Ryan Fry, a key addition to the Jacobs team as they rejigged and then gelled for a Brier win in 2013 and then a perfect run at the Olympic Trials last December, was at his near-best in this game, firing a 90% into the ninth end and keeping his mates honest when chirping in with strategy ideas.

With two wins in a row against first a relatively soft touch and then a relatively tough one, Jacobs' mission now is to continue that upward trajectory against two contenders for gold - Norway and Great Britain, before finishing the round robin against the United States and then what may be another huge match heading to the medal round against a team that is so far undefeated, China.

Now with a record of 3-2, Canada finds itself within reach of the top of the standings, should China (4-0) falter a touch and Canada keep on with its winning ways. In between, Sweden and Great Britain (both 4-1) and Norway (3-1), are currently in playoff positions.

With four teams making the medal round and Canada standing fifth, you can see just how large those games against Great Britain and Norway are and perhaps how large the game against China may be.