Pinerolo, Italy – The U.S. men’s curling team went conservative against Finland on Monday night and wound up in the spot it hoped for: tie game, final frame and the hammer – the last rock – in Pete Fenson’s hand.
But the American team leader slid the stone a few inches too far and left Finland sitting closest to the middle of the target, giving the Fins a 4-3 victory in the opening round of the Olympic curling tournament.
“A lot of times it comes down to the last rock,” U.S. team member John Shuster said. “We played the game to be tied up and him with the chance to bring it home with the hammer.”
The match remained tied through nine ends, which are like baseball innings, with one to go in regulation. The Americans held the last throw – an advantage so big that teams usually will forgo a chance at one point so they can retain the hammer and have a chance to score more.
That’s what Fenson’s team did three times against Finland, including the ninth end of a 3-3 game. In the 10th the rocks piled up in the target area, or house, while the Americans played for the last shot.
Fenson took aim at a U.S. rock in the outer blue circle, with the goal of nudging it inside the Finnish stone that was closest to the middle. But he released a little too hard, his rock slid just past the yellow American stone he was aiming for and it tapped away a harmless red Finnish one.
“Ah, I’ll get over it,” Fenson said. “We’ve lost before.”
The disappointment was partially relieved by the Americans’ 11-5 rout of defending champion Norway in their opener.
