TEAM DROPKIN HANDS TEAM SHUSTER FIRST LOSS OF TOURNAMENT TO CONTROL PLAYOFF DESTINY
Photo by Bob Weder
The John Shuster skipped team made it through the first eight games of the men’s round robin unscathed at the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Curling until meeting Team Dropkin for their second matchup of the tournament in the feature game on Wednesday evening.
In their first meeting of the event in men’s session five on Monday afternoon, Team Dropkin pushed Team Shuster to an extra end, forcing Team Shuster to make a draw to the four foot on the final stone to secure an 8-7 win.
Team Dropkin suffered a second loss on Monday evening, falling 11-8 to Team Ruohonen before rattling off three consecutive wins.
In their second meeting with Team Shuster in the round robin, Team Dropkin waited patiently for opportunities to crawl ahead on the scoreboard.
“We came out strong. Shuster's team was making a lot of shots as well like they usually do. We needed to stay sharp,” said Korey Dropkin. “Fortunately, we picked up a big steal in the sixth end. Everything kind of worked out from there. My guys played great, and we came out with a big win."
After forcing Team Shuster to one point in the second end, Team Dropkin blanked the third and fourth frames before running the scoreboard and scoring six points, leading Team Shuster to concede after eight ends of play.
"It was a huge win. We needed it,” said Dropkin. “We played a couple of games early on this week that we wish we had back. It put us in a sticky situation and tonight was a big game.”
The victory over Team Shuster puts Team Dropkin in second place of the standings with a 6-3 record and in control of their own destiny.
"We're feeling confident out here. That win puts us in a good spot. All we have to do is get one more win tomorrow against Dunnam and we'll be in the playoffs against Johhny,” added Dropkin. “There's no doubt they're a great team and they've been sailing through this event. But we're here, building confidence throughout the week and we're going to bring all we got tomorrow against Dunnam."
Team Dropkin will play Team Dunnam in their final round robin game on Thursday afternoon at 2:00PM.
“Keep cheering, keep being loud,” said Dropkin. “We hear you and appreciate you."
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