U.S. Men’s Curling Team Edges Czechia in First Match of Round Robin Play

Took advantage of some poor throws from the Czech’s

Cortina Bay, ITA- The start of the Men’s Olympic Curling matches in the Curling Arena of Cortina Bay was ready to go as the USA was ready for their first opponents in Czechia on the opening day of the Men’s games after the Mixed Doubles started these Olympic Games. After ten full ends of match number one, it would be Team USA opening with a win as they edged Czechia by a final score of eight to seven.

Overview

After a scoreless first end, Team USA held the hammer for the second end. After the third end, the USA was leading two to one with a button shot in the second, and in the fourth, until the Czech’s got three points in the fifth end to take a four-two lead. Daniel Casper of Briarcliff Manor, New York, of the Ardssley Curling Club threw the seventh stone and missed the Czech’s stone and bumped his off. That set up the three points toward the hammer

But Team USA redeemed themselves in the sixth end by tying the score with a two-point end of their own. Both sides had a stone edging the four-foot; Czechia’s Lukas Klima took out the Guad, but not the second stone inside the four-foot. That gave Casper the moment to redeem himself to perfectly send the hammer to knock out the stone.

After the Czech’s won their seventh end for a point and a five-four lead, a huge three-point end in the eighth. A bad jam shot from Martin Jurak missed a clearing attempt and allowed the USA’s stone to curl inside the four-foot. Ben Richardson curls the next stone into the 12-foot, then Marek Cernovsky’s throw of the fifth stone taps his own guard and slowly moves into the middle of the sheet.

While both sides were postering for Stone Position from the button to the four-foot, each side knocking out stones left and right, until the 8th stone for the Czech’s, as Klima missed again, hitting one of the three stones, but also clearing out his own that he threw. That was the moment Casper needed to knock out the remaining stone for the Czech and get the lead back at seven to five.

After the Czech’s tied it up again witha two point end in the ninth, it was all for Team USA as the Czech’s one again hit their own guard from Jurak on the third stone, giving the USA a chance to throw the fastball down the middle as Richardson smashed out two of the three stones to clear and control the button. Then it was a game of adding the guard remove the guard several times.

On the seventh stone, Czechia called a timeout to discuss the game plan. They decided to knock the USA stone out of the button, and it rested on the bottom of the four-foot. Then the USA called for a timeout to discuss their own game plan. Casper’s throw of his seventh stone took out all the reds in the house. A last gasp attempt to lock the Czech’s eighth stone in front, but it didn’t matter as Casper sent it down and with the help of his teammates sweeping, they knocked the Czech’s last stone, took the point and the victory.

Their next match will be on Thursday, February 12th, as the USA will take on Switzerland. They will be between the first two matches for the USA Women’s team: they will first face South Korea in the morning, then in the evening against Sweden, where Cory Thiesse will join her new teammates in the four-woman team after winning the Silver Medal in Mixed Doubles.

Olympic Curling News:

• U.S. Curling Mixed Doubles Team Gets Silver as Sweden Takes the Gold
• U.S. Curling Mixed Doubles Team Advances to The Gold Medal Game, Defeats Italy on Final End
• U.S. Curling Mixed Doubles Fall to Italy on Final Day of Round Robin Play
• U.S. Curling Mixed Doubles Makes History Qualifying for the Semi-Finals edging Sweden

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