USA MEN OPEN WITH WIN OVER ROC
Photo: Bob Weder
There was an added buzz in the air at the Ice Cube in Beijing on Wednesday morning.
Team Shuster (John Shuster, Chris Plys, Matt Hamilton, John Landsteiner, and Colin Hufman) had been in the Village for one week already before finally stepping foot on the Olympic ice for the Team’s pre-event practice.
With 15 minutes on each sheet of curling ice, Team Shuster practiced for one hour - throwing rocks, checking out the ice conditions, and most importantly, functioning as a team on the ice for the first time since arriving in Beijing.
Following practice, the Team had the afternoon off to rest and prepare for the evening matchup and opening game against ROC.
"It's actually funny. I never had any butterflies before today,” reflected John Shuster when asked about nerve levels. “It's just incredible having the opportunity to go out and represent our country at the Olympics with four of your best friends. And having this opportunity with Sean (Beighton) coaching us is really incredible."
The Olympic opener didn’t allow room for nervous mistakes. In a game that demanded precision, the defending gold medalists stayed neck-and-neck with ROC throughout ten ends of play.
Team USA’s ability to force ROC to a single point in the tenth end sent the game into overtime, giving the Americans last stone advantage.
John Shuster executed a draw to the four-foot to clinch Team USA’s first win of the tournament, picking up right where the on-ice foursome left off four years ago at the 2018 Games.
USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, Toyota, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Brakebush, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), and Sitrin, and is partnered with IHG, Rock Solid Productions Inc., Laurie Artiss Ltd. – The Pin People.
