Team Shuster Into Men's Olympic Curling Playoffs After Win Over Denmark

by Todd Kortemeier

Matt Hamilton competes during the Men’s Curling Round Robin Session against Team Denmark at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 17, 2022 in Beijing, China. 

 

BEIJING –  Team Shuster did exactly what it had to do Thursday, winning its final round robin game to finish with a 5-4 record and earn the fourth and final spot in the semifinals of men’s curling at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
The team’s quest for a second consecutive gold medal is alive and well.

 

 

Skip John Shuster and company got off to a bit of a slow start in their morning tilt with Denmark at the National Aquatics Centre. The Danes put a single on the board with hammer in the first end and then got a steal of one in the second. 

But the U.S. would respond with a deuce in the third end followed by a massive steal of three in the fourth to break the game open. It was all about game management from there, as Denmark would draw within two in the ninth but ran out of rocks in the tenth before conceding.

Team Shuster technically finished in a tie for third place with Canada, but their loss to the Canadians means they’ll be the fourth seed and meet No. 1 Great Britain. 

The Americans won’t get much time to celebrate their playoff berth as their Beijing day was just beginning. Their semifinal matchup was just over eight hours away in an evening draw at the Ice Cube. 

Team GB, whose members all hail from Scotland, was 8-1 in the round robin, but that lone blemish came at the hands of Team Shuster, who pulled out a 9-7 victory in the third draw. The teams also met at the most recent world championships, where Shuster also prevailed, 10-9 in an extra end. Scotland would go on to win the silver medal. 

Thursday’s semifinal begins at 8:05 p.m. from Beijing, 7:05 a.m. ET.

 

Want to follow Team USA athletes during the Olympic Games Beijing 2022? Visit TeamUSA.org/Beijing-2022-Olympic-Games to view the competition schedule, medal table and results.

Todd Kortemeier #

Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor, and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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