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Crocker completes comeback vs. Kim at Players’ Championship

TORONTO — Edmonton’s Laura Crocker skipped Team Rocque to a wild 10-8 victory over EunJung Kim’s team from South Korea at the Players’ Championship.

Trailing by four points, Crocker scored three in the seventh and stole a trio coming home in the eighth to complete the comeback during the second draw of round-robin play Wednesday morning at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Crocker, who is originally from nearby Scarborough, Ont., normally throws third and calls the game for the squad but has moved up to fourth as Kelsey Rocque was unable to make it to the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling tournament. Kendra Lilly, from Northern Ontario’s Team McCarville, is subbing at third this week.

“It’s awesome, they’re so much fun,” said Lilly, who played juniors with Team Rocque lead Jen Gates in Sudbury, Ont. “I mean, I’m friends with them outside so it’s been a ton of fun. It’s going to be a great week.”

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Crocker opened the scoring with a deuce in the second. Kim, who won the Olympic silver medal on home ice at the Pyeongchang Winter Games, matched with two points in the third and pulled up with a single steal in the fourth to lead 3-2 at the break.

After Crocker counted another two-ender in the fifth, Kim took control in the sixth and delivered an open hit to score five to jump ahead 8-4. Team Rocque didn’t fold and charged ahead knowing with the five-rock free-guard zone in place, anything was possible.

“It was pretty devastating in six and we just said, ‘It’s five-rock rule, [let’s] see what happens and make her throw her last shot in eight,’” Lilly said. “We had a pretty good setup, so we really couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Elsewhere, American Jamie Sinclair scored three in the third and stole three in the fourth during a commanding 7-1 victory over Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa.

Silvana Tirinzoni took two in the eighth to lift her Swiss team to an 8-7 win over Calgary’s Chelsea Carey.

In the lone men’s division game, Scotland’s Bruce Mouat scored three in the seventh to top Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen 6-3.

The Players’ Championship features 12 of the top women’s teams and 12 of the top men’s teams in the world. Teams are split into two pools for round-robin play with the best eight overall qualifying for the weekend playoffs. The GSOC’s Bonus Cup, awarded to the season men’s and women’s champions, will also be handed out following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship.

Round-robin play continues at Noon ET. Television coverage begins Thursday at Noon ET on Sportsnet with online streaming available at Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare TV (international).