TEAM USA IN BRONZE MEDAL GAME AT WORLD MEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
© WCF / Alina Pavlyuchik 2022
The United States (Korey Dropkin, Joe Polo, Mark Fenner, Tom Howell, and Alex Fenson) qualified for playoffs of the World Men’s Curling Championship 2022 after completing the round robin portion of the event with a 7-5 record.
The 7-5 record and head-to-head standings landed the U.S. the fifth seed in a six-team playoff round, along with the following teams:
Canada
Sweden
Italy
Scotland
United States
Switzerland
In the playoffs, two qualification games were played on Saturday afternoon (3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5). The winners of the qualification games advanced to the semifinals where the one-seed played the winner of the 4 vs. 5 game and the two-seed played the winner of the 3 vs. 6 game.
“It’s a new bonspiel today,” said Korey Dropkin leading into the qualification matchup. “All we can do now is focus on our processes, what we can control, and play our hearts out for all ten ends.”
The United States faced Scotland in the qualification game where they dominated the first half of play.
It was the Scots who had hammer to start the matchup due to their higher playoff ranking, but the U.S. was first on the board with a steal of two in the opening end.
After forcing Scotland to a single in the second end, the U.S. went on to score single points in the third, fourth, and fifth ends to build a 5-1 lead at the half.
Scotland blanked the sixth end before returning the three-end scoring streak to trail only by one. However, it was the U.S. who had hammer in the tenth end, and after Scotland narrowly missed a runback takeout attempt, the U.S. didn’t need to throw their final stone to secure a 6-4 victory.
The Dropkin-skipped rink advanced to play Canada in the semifinal game.
Unfortunately, Canada got off to a hot start by scoring two with hammer in the second end and forcing the U.S. to a single in the third. The Canadians built a 3-2 lead at the halfway mark and possessed hammer entering the second half.
Making use of last stone advantage, Canada put up another score of two to open the half before again forcing the U.S. to a single. The United States finally had the opportunity to score two in the ninth end, but the deuce left the Americans down one without hammer in the final end.
The Canadians defended their lead in the tenth, resulting in an 8-5 loss for the U.S.
In their World Men’s Curling Championship debut, Team USA will compete for a medal in today’s bronze medal game against Italy.
“Our confidence stems from our preparation and our trust in one another,” said Korey Dropkin. “We’re having fun and enjoying the moment. The boys have been playing great and we are all out there supporting each other, doing what we can to make the next shot.”
The bronze medal matchup will be played at 1:00pm CDT and can be viewed on Peacock or the Olympic Channel.
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.
