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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — John Shuster made an electric in-off takeout to count three points in the eighth end to lift his American club to a 6-3 win over Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat during Draw 8 Wednesday in the KIOTI National.

Shuster’s last-shot heroics had the Mary Brown’s Centre crowd buzzing as he handed Mouat his first loss in the Grand Slam of Curling this season.

The world No. 1 Mouat has had unreal tournaments posting perfect records through the HearingLife Tour Challenge and Co-op Canadian Open to claim back-to-back titles and kicked off the KIOTI National with a 7-4 win over compatriot James Craik during the opening draw Tuesday.

“Our team has played a bunch of really good games this year,” said Shuster, who earned the bronze medal last month at the Pan Continental Championships. “I think we got a little unlucky, did not qualify in the first Slam in the triple (knockout) with my burnt last rock that happened. Then we played a really good event at the Pans. In the last Slam, between being worn down and (myself) being sick, it was not who we really are. …

“To put a complete game together and have the hammer coming home, you prefer that to be a draw to the four-foot as opposed to a super thin in-off but at the same point, if I get a chance to throw a shot to win a game or whatever it is, I like doing that for my teammates.”

Shuster, who improved to a 1-1 record in the event, said it was super fun having thousands of fans in the stands roaring after making that shot and even felt the support as he was sliding to the hack.

“You play worlds here in Canada sometimes, you don’t get the love and I think we’ve felt the love in Newfoundland,” Shuster said. “Whether we’re on the street, our guys are taking pictures with people and signing autographs just walking around. As I was going down to throw that shot I heard at least four or five different people saying, ‘C’mon Shuster! You’ve got this! Throw it good!’ That’s been incredibly fun.”

Meanwhile, Craik climbed to a 1-1 record after escaping with a 4-3 victory over Italy’s Team Joël Retornaz.

Although Retornaz held the hammer in the eighth end all tied up, Craik made a perfect freeze that forced Retornaz to attempt a double to knock it off the button. Retornaz (1-1) connected with the first stone but missed the shot rock completely as Craik stole the winning point.

“Oh my gosh, what a game,” Craik said. “That was super intense, the crowd was electric and we really fed off of that, but we’re super pumped up for this. We’re kind of in a tight spot staying in these Slams and they mean so much to us, so we’re really fighting as hard as we can for it.”

Craik had kudos for the crowd as well as they cheered all the players as they walked off the ice.

“This is the biggest arena we’ve ever played in before and these are the biggest crowds we’ve seen in a curling event like this,” Craik said. “It’s super exciting to be exposed to that and we’re really thankful to be able to get that.”

There was also at least one Scotland flag flying in the crowd showing support for Craik and Mouat.

“Everybody is super supportive,” Craik said. “Obviously, they’ve got their hero in Newfoundland, however, they wish us luck in every game until we play (Brad) Gushue.”

Calgary’s Team Brad Jacobs moved to 2-0 after scoring three in the eighth end to edge Team Magnus Ramsfjell of Norway 5-4. Ramsfjell dropped to 0-2 and must win his next round-robin match to stay in the playoff picture.

Team Niklas Edin of Sweden stole away an 8-4 victory from Winnipeg’s Team Matt Dunstone.

Edin swiped a single in the first, two points in the second and bookended the match taking three more points in the seventh. Both teams are level at 1-1 records.

UP NEXT

Round-robin play resumes Thursday with Draw 9 at 8:30 a.m. NT / 7 a.m. ET at the Mary Brown’s Centre.

Live streaming of every game is available on free preview via HomeTeam.

Broadcast coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins Thursday at noon NT / 10:30 a.m. ET.

NOTES

The KIOTI National is the third Grand Slam of Curling event of the season featuring 16 of the top men’s teams and 16 of the top women’s teams from around the world. … Round-robin play runs through to Friday. The top eight teams in both divisions advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. If necessary, one tiebreaker draw will be played Saturday morning to determine the final playoff spots. … The semifinals are also scheduled for Saturday with both finals on tap Sunday.