GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA – For John Shuster, Monday's big victory over Canada was delivered by the thinnest of margins. Nina Roth had a little more breathing room, as her team needed only eight ends to beat China.
Both U.S. curling teams kept their Olympic playoff hopes alive with superb performances Monday at Gangneung Curling Centre. Shuster's thrilling final shot gave the American men a historic 9-7 victory, marking the first time the U.S. has beaten Canada at the Olympic Games.
Roth's team edged Denmark 7-6 in the morning session, then routed China 10-4 in the evening to win consecutive games for the first time in the tournament.
The nine-game round robin ends Wednesday, with the top four teams moving on to the playoffs. The U.S. men (3-4) were in a three-way tie for fifth place after Tuesday's morning session. The U.S. women (4-3) were tied for fourth with Great Britain.
Shuster shook off his shooting woes Monday in an extra-end victory. The Minnesota skip needed his final shot to knock out a Canadian stone and come to rest nearest the button; first, it had to get past a guard, a rock that Canada had placed to block the path. Shuster's shot barely sneaked past the guard, then bumped out Canada's scoring stone and stopped on cue to end his team's best game of the tournament.
"I knew [the last shot] was a tiny bit tighter line than I initially wanted it to be out of my hand,'' Shuster said. "I gave a scream for Matt [Hamilton] to sweep, and it got by by half an inch.
"It was good to bounce back. Let's just hope it's not too late.''
''We kept ourselves in the mix and got a big win over an extremely good curling team. I'm extremely proud of the way the team came together and played.''