Skip Wes Smith was credited with making 85 percent of his shots in the 6-2 win over Switzerland.

These Swiss are no slouches, having beaten Great Britain in the opening draw on Sunday thereby ending a 17-game international championship winning streak owned by the two-time world champion Brits.

"It feels good to finally get a 'w,'" said Jimmy Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.), who was back to throwing the vice skip stones today.  Wes Smith (Glenburn, Maine) was in the house for USA and threw the skips' stones, marking his first time in that role in the Paralympics. Danell Libby (Chatham, N.Y.) played lead again, and Augusto "Goose" Perez (East Syracuse, N.Y.) played second, but also held the broom for Smith's shots.

"We got a win now so we can relax and feel good about it," said Coach Steve Brown (Madison, Wis.), adding, "We'll be sticking with the same lineup for the next game."

The Americans had a little difficulty getting a feel for the speed of the ice in the first end, with the first few shots going through the house. But they soon adjusted to that and also the fact that the ice was curling up to four feet, which made for interesting games all across the arena.

The Americans scored one with the last-rock advantage in the first end, and then stole their first point of the competition in the second end. Switzerland's Urs Bucher rink had the makings of a multiple point end set up in the second until Smith made a delicate corner freeze with his first shot, giving USA first count. Bucher blasted both rocks out of the rings on the next shot, leaving the Swiss counting three. But after Smith drew partially behind a guard with his team's last rock, Bucher's hammer shot crunched a guard, allowing the steal.

USA built a 3-0 lead by stealing another point in the third end. Joseph threaded a takeout past a stack of center guards to remove Switzerland's shot rock and leave his team counting two. Smith-who was credited with making 85 percent of his shots, matched in this entire draw only by Denmark's lead-followed with two smooth draws to the four-foot. His last shot just rubbed the Swiss stone in third count, and left the two American stones dangerously open to a double takeout that would have netted four for the opposition. But Bucher's shot over-curled an inch and a half, resulting in another steal of one.

It was the first time in the Paralympics that the U.S. curlers went into the third-end break with a lead, and Brown made sure to try to keep the team from getting over-hyped. "I told them to stay in the present, and try to keep playing one shot at a time," he said. "They didn't need to be looking ahead or start thinking about what might happen.

Switzerland got on the board with a hit-and-stay for one against three U.S. stones in the fourth end. After Bucher just missed a double takeout with his team's last shot in the fifth end, Smith drew in for three and a commanding 6-1 lead. The Americans peeled guards and kept the ice clear of stones in the sixth, eventually running the Swiss out of rocks with just one counter in the house.

"Wes called a good game, and everybody shot well," said Joseph. "We're going to come right back out this afternoon and do the same thing. Once we click, there's no stopping us. As long as we're all on the same page, and there's good communication, we're as good as anyone here."

Said Brown: "The main thing is that we need to try to keep working as a team."

The Americans return to the ice this afternoon against Denmark at 4:00 p.m. (10 a.m. ET).

All three of the other games in the third round of action were decided by one point. Sweden delivered Canada its first loss, stealing the winning point for a 5-4 victory when the Canadians missed a last-rock takeout attempt. Norway, the eighth seed coming into the Paralympics, remained unbeaten with a 7-6 win over Great Britain, the top seed in the field. Denmark held off Italy, 5-4, but the Italians had a shot at forcing an extra end or possibly winning on the last shot. Italian skip Egidio Marchese's draw for three, or possibly a raise for three or four, clipped a guard, however, and the rally ended there to the dismay of the arena packed with seemingly half of Pinerolo.

Standings

Norway 3-0
Canada 2-1
Sweden 2-1
Denmark 1-2
Great Britain 1-2
Italy 1-2
Switzerland 1-2
USA 1-2