The Americans opened play with Jim Pierce (North Syracuse, N.Y.) calling the shots and Jimmy Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.) throwing the last rocks, and they had a great opportunity to go ahead big and early with the last-rock advantage in the first end.

A little too much adrenaline might have contributed to Joseph getting more momentum than necessary on an attempted takeout with his first rock, though, and the missed shot gave the Swedes an out. Skip Jalle Jungnell placed a perfect guard in front of his team's shot rock, and instead of shooting for four or more, Joseph was left with a draw to the four-foot for one. His draw also had a little too much on it, and the Swedes escaped with a 1-0 lead.

For the next two ends, it seemed as if the Americans-with Danell Libby (Chatham, N.Y.) at lead and Augusto "Goose" Perez (East Syracuse, N.Y.) at vice skip-were constantly chasing Sweden. Pierce, throwing the second set of stones, made a nice double takeout in the second end to leave USA sitting with shot rock. But by the time Joseph delivered the hammer, Sweden was again counting two. USA's draw for one caught a guard on the way in, and Sweden took a 3-0 lead.

Jungnell's team increased its lead to 5-0 with another theft of two in the third, when USA's hit-and-stick attempt for one sailed by the target stone. At the mid-game break, Coach Steve Brown (Madison, Wis.) decided to have Pierce shoot the last rocks, and the only way he could do this was by substituting Wes Smith (Glenburn, Maine) in at second for Joseph.

"I didn't want Joseph to feel like I was yanking him, but Pierce started out pretty solid, and I wanted to give him a chance to throw the last stones," said Brown. "The only way I could do that was by changing the lineup."

In the fourth, Perez made a great raise double takeout with his first shot, giving USA first count to boot. After Sweden's takeout attempt wrecked on a guard, Perez followed with a tapback to give his team second count as well. When Pierce rolled up with the hammer, he took a look at a tough takeout to score as many as four, but instead opted to play a draw for three. His shot was on the heavy side, though, and USA had to settle for two, yet was finally on the board.

After holding Sweden to one in the fifth, the Americans got a couple of breaks in the sixth and final end that almost gave them an opportunity to tie the game. USA had the only two stones in the house and one guard three feet in front when Pierce delivered the final shot of the game. The only way to score four for the tie would have been to somehow raise the guard and spin the shooter into the rings. Because of the distance and angle, this would have been a nearly impossible shot even with sweeping, and proved to be undoable for the wheelchair team.

Pierce said opening game jitters likely had an effect on his team. "We could have played better, but I know we all have the ability to make shots," he said. "I think we were a little nervous coming out. We just need to concentrate a little more on our shots."

USA returns to the ice at 4 p.m. against Norway.

The Norwegians came out strong against Italy today, claiming a 9-3 win. In one of the biggest surprises early on, Switzerland upset the heavily-favored Great Britain squad, 4-3. The Swiss removed one of two opposing stones with the final shot of the game to limit the Brits to one and secure the win. This ended a 17-game international championship winning streak for Great Britain, which had won the last two World Championships. In one other game, Canada defeated Denmark 6-3.