Six men’s teams entered the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling with the goal of becoming Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

After a double round robin, it was Team Shuster (John Shuster, Chris Plys, Matt Hamilton, and John Landsteiner) and Team Dropkin (Korey Dropkin, Joe Polo, Mark Fenner, Tom Howell, and Alex Fenson) who advanced to the best-of-three game final.

In the first game of the series, Team Shuster started the game with hammer due to the Team’s higher ranking entering the playoffs.

The game opened with high-level shot making from both teams, but a draw on Team Dropkin’s final stone to sit two in the four-foot under cover could not be removed by Team Shuster, resulting in a steal of two for Team Dropkin.  

In the second end, Team Dropkin made a takeout on their final stone, rolling frozen to the face of their counter already on the side of the button.

Team Shuster’s double-takeout attempt to score two was unsuccessful, only removing one of Team Dropkin’s stones and scoring a single.

It was in the third frame where Team Dropkin pounced on an opportunity to score a multiple after Team Shuster shorted a draw attempt on their final stone, leaving Team Dropkin a draw to the house to score three and take a four-point lead.

Already sitting one, Team Shuster had the opportunity to score their first multiple of the game in the fourth end but were unable to outdraw Dropkin’s rock that sat second and were forced to another single point.  

To close out the first half of game one, Team Shuster executed a must-make freeze on one of two Team Dropkin counters. Team Dropkin attempted to peel Shuster’s rock out of the house but Dropkin’s shooter didn’t make enough contact to remove Shuster’s counter from the house, resulting in a steal of one for Team Shuster.

Leading 5-3 with hammer entering the second half of the game, Team Dropkin elected to blank the sixth end after John Shuster made a double takeout to remove both Team Dropkin’s counters that sat in the back of the twelve-foot.

In the seventh end, Team Dropkin found their second three-point score of the game, removing Team Shuster’s shot rock to extend their lead 8-3.

Facing three Team Dropkin stones in the eighth end, Team Shuster was forced to another single point, resulting in Team Shuster’s concession after eight ends of play.

“I think the big thing was keeping things simple, we know how to play a smart game,” said Korey Dropkin. “John and those guys are really good at playing with a lot of rocks in play. They like to make things complicated and they’re really good shooters, we know that.”

Team Dropkin’s approach of forcing Team Shuster to their strategy was made successful by their high shooting percentages throughout the entirety of the game.

“We were on the wrong side of the inch a few times there and it’s really tough to play from behind against that team,” said John Shuster. “That’s all you can do. Go out and try to make shots to create opportunities.”

Team Dropkin is one win way away from an Olympic berth, but Team Shuster is no stranger to must-win situations. In the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Team Shuster won two straight games after losing the first of the series to become Olympians.

Game two of the men’s final will be played at 5:00PM (CST) on Saturday, November 20th.

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, and United Airlines.