CRANBROOK, B.C. — Charley Thomas scored three in the eighth to lift his Edmonton-based team to a 5-4 comeback victory Thursday over Toronto’s John Epping at the Tour Challenge.
Thomas improved to a 1-2 record to stay in the mix for playoff contention at the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament.
Down by two points, Thomas held the hammer coming home in eight and capitalized after Epping missed a double attempt that opened up an opportunity to hit-and-stick for three and the win.
“We knew that if we managed to make eight shots we’d have a good shot at getting two points,” Thomas said with a smile. “You never think to get three against a team like that.”
Epping blanked the first and looked to make a double for two in the second but only took out one counter for just a single. Thomas was forced to a point in the third and made a quiet-weight tap to score and level it 1-1.
Epping chipped off one of his other stones to get into the eight-foot circle with his last for a deuce in the fourth end and pull back into the lead.
Thomas blanked five, however, he only managed a draw to the button for a single in six after Epping made an amazing in-off double takeout with his shooter spinning to the side of the lid.
Epping’s blank attempt in seven stopped short as he tried to hit and roll and was just a little too on the nose sticking for one to set the table for the dramatic eighth end.
Following the spirited rebounding win, Thomas believed his 1-2 record doesn’t really reflect how his team has played so far.
“It was just a matter of a couple shots and we could easily be 3-0 right now,” he said. “It’s just kind of how curling goes.”
Twelve-time Grand Slam champ Craig Savill is playing his first event with Team Thomas after joining the squad full-time at lead last week. Savill was forced to step back from competitive curling last season after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Thomas said it’s awesome to have Savill on his side.
“He’s been on so many good teams I can already tell he’s going to bring a ton to our game,” he said. “It’s going good so far.”
Epping fell to a 0-2 record and is now in a must-win situation heading into his remaining two round-robin games.
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Elsewhere in Draw 7, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen moved up to a 2-0 record with a 6-3 set over Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher (0-2).
Brad Jacobs (1-1) of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., held off Scotland’s David Murdoch 8-5 in an Olympic final rematch.
Jacobs smashed a 2-2 tie with a huge five-ender in the fifth. Murdoch (0-2) bounced back with a deuce in six and stole one in seven as Jacobs threw hard with his last but missed the counter and clipped out his own stone behind it instead. Jacobs iced it with his last in the eighth tacking on one more point.
Jacobs topped Murdoch for the gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
In women’s division action, Calgary’s Chelsea Carey (1-2) stole to victory over defending Tour Challenge champ Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland 6-2.
Carey, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts winner, broke a 1-1 tie stealing back-to-back singles in three and four and then swiped two in the fifth. The teams alternated points in six and seven and Carey ran Tirinzoni (0-2) out of rocks in eight to stay in the mix.
Japan’s Ayumi Ogasawara (1-2) is still in play after a commanding 8-2 victory over Winnipeg’s Kerri Einarson (0-2). Ogasawara took two in the third, stole two in the the fourth, held Einarson to a point in five and then close things out early drawing for a four score in six.
NOTES: The Tour Challenge is the second of seven events on the 2016-17 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule. … Tour Challenge action continues Thursday at 4:30 p.m. MT on sportsnet.ca. … The Tour Challenge runs through to Sunday at Western Financial Place (all Tier 1 games and Tier 2 finals) and Memorial Arena (Tier 2 games from round-robin play to semifinals).