Curling’s miracle on ice? Team USA beats favorite Canada
Americans’ victory puts them in final
GANGNEUNG, South Korea – Matt Hamilton is going to get a McFlurry.
It doesn’t matter which flavor is his favorite, because the McDonald’s in the Olympic Village has only one. It’s Oreo. Hamilton already knows this, by the way.
Ordering one is how he’s going to celebrate the greatest win in U.S. curling history. On Thursday night, a few hours after the women’s hockey team dramatically defeated archrival Canada for its first Olympic gold medal in 20 years, the men’s curling team also beat Canada.
The curling rivalry between the neighboring countries might not be as hyped or as intense as the hockey counterpart, but the Canadians are three-time defending Olympic gold medalists and the USA has beat them twice in these Games. The first during round-robin play and the second in Thursday’s 5-3 semifinal victory.
Now the USA is going to play in its first-ever gold medal match, against Sweden on Saturday.
“I don’t think there’s any pressure, but I’ve never been in this situation before,” Hamilton said. “Any medal is a good medal. We’re just gonna go out there and play our best.
“Sweden is probably the best team in the world. They’re the favorite, but this is the Olympics and anything can happen.”
The Americans’ only medal in curling was bronze in the 2006 Torino Olym- pics. The team finished second-to-last four years ago in Sochi and dead last four years prior in Vancouver.
After taking the lead at the fourth end, the USA made a key steal in the eighth to score two points to take a 4-2 lead into the final two ends. Canada made it 4-3 after nine, but John Shuster finished it off in the 10th, delivering a perfect final stone that hit and stuck for one point.
He described the shot, during the match’s most tense moment, as “easy.”
“This was one of the first times where I think I’ve had that shot sitting in my hand,” Shuster said. “I was like, this looks like a practice shot that I throw in league, when I’m with my friends and there’s nobody around.
“Let’s enjoy this. I mean, every single skip here would do the same thing. That feeling inside me right there was just something of simplicity.”
Maybe the USA was relaxed because it was feeding off the confidence from friends on the women’s hockey team. Shuster said they were inspired after watching them win gold and that they knew “that was the mentality we had to have today.”
Team Canada, on the other hand, didn’t have the same advantage. Shuster sensed the Canadians were under pressure throughout the tightly contested match. Marc Kennedy didn’t freely admit as much but was irritable as he answered reporters’ questions in the mixed zone.
“It’s a sport that we love, and sometimes you’re on the losing end,” Kennedy said. “It’s not the end of the world. We’re not gonna die. The sun will come up, and we just have to try to win a bronze medal for Canada.”
Then he was asked if Canada was the favorite since the club has dominated the sport over the last two decades.
“It’s overplayed that Canada is a favorite,” Kennedy countered. “We come from a rich history of curling, where we won everything, and that’s not the way it is anymore. Anyone that’s been watching the grand slams of curling, we’ve got European teams winning all the time. They spend nine months of the year in Canada training and learning our strategies and using our coaching and using our ice. So this is the new normal for Canada. People need to get used to it. Canada will be fine. We’ve still got the best curlers in the world. When it comes down to one game here or there, this is what happens.”
The USA went 2-4 during round-robin play. But after beating Canada on Monday, the team’s luck changed. Shuster’s group has been more aggressive, made more shots, and hasn’t lost since.
“Our team has had our backs against the walls plenty of times, but come on,” Shuster said. “It’s the Olympics. Who is going to give up on hope?”
Shuster, who is competing in his fourth Games and was part of the bronze medal team 12 years ago, was ousted from the program after Sochi because of a poor finish. USA Curling started a high-performance program, and he wasn’t allowed to participate.
In a form of retaliation, he formed Team Shuster — which Hamilton dubbed the “team of rejects” — and they had top-five finishes in the past three World Championships and won the Olympics trials last November to qualify for Pyeongchang.
All that’s behind him now as he and his team prepare for uncharted territory.
“Now we’re rolling,” Hamilton said. “Bring on Sweden.”
Maybe if the USA wins gold there will be McFlurries for everyone.