SOCHI, Russia - The U.S. men's curling team, skipped by John Shuster of Duluth, is 1-2 after defeated Demark 9-5 Wednesday morning, erasing some of the sting from opening defeats to Norway and China.
In Olympic qualifying two months ago in Fuessen, Germany, the U.S. was struggling at 1-2 but ended up winning five consecutive matches to earn its place in Sochi.
"It's kind of our thing," said U.S. player Jeff Isaacson of Gilbert, Minn. "We often don't get off to the best start that we need to. We dig a little hole and get a couple of losses. We've done it many times."
China, now 2-0, beat the U.S. 9-4 in eight ends after the Americans conceded. Norway won 7-4 over the U.S. on Monday.
In Vancouver four years ago, Shuster's rink went 2-7 and finished in 10th place.
The other North American team is off to a slow start, too. Canada, the two-time defending champion, lost 7-6 to Sweden on Tuesday to fall to 1-2. "We're not flat, we're just not making everything," Canada's Ryan Fry said.
