Sometimes, the momentum of a hockey game can turn on a dime.
Or, in this case, a Sime.
Julian Sime's (Mississauga/North Bay Battalion, OHL) second-period grand-larceny save set the table for Cam Nicoll's (Loretto/Newmarket Hurricanes, OJHL) game-tying and game-winning goals, as the Waterloo Warriors earned their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Friday night at the Columbia Icefield Arena.
Markson Bechtold (Strathmore/Saskatoon Blades, WHL) also scored for the Warriors in their three-goal middle frame, and Sime turned away 27 shots to earn his first career OUA victory. Meanwhile, Laurier goals from Lucas Batt and Anthony Conti weren't enough, as they fall to 0-2-0 on the young season. Tyler Fassl made 13 stops for the Hawks in defeat.
The visiting Golden Hawks came out the more prepared of the two clubs, and it showed on both the scoreboard and the shot clock. After Sime made a sprawling right pad save on a Batt rebound try, the forward made good on his extra attempt by lifting the puck high over Sime's pad and into the net for a 1-0 lead. Then, before the end of the period, Sime made an incredible post-to-post stop, only to see the rebound fall right to Conti, who tapped it in for a 2-0 Laurier lead.
Bechtold cut the lead in half just 30 seconds into the second period, when his knuckler from the point on a power play changed directions and got through Fassl's pads to make it 2-1. Then, Sime's brilliance provided a turning point: a bouncing puck was neatly centered for Jeremy Pullara, but Sime, in full splits, ranged from the right goal post to the left to snare the puck with his glove hand.
The stop seemed to instantly ignite the Warriors, and they were rewarded with the game-tying goal just moments later – Nicoll followed up an Andrew Cordssen-David (Washington Crossing/Georgetown Raiders, OJHL) shot by potting the rebound to make it 2-2, and giving the big defenceman his first career OUA point in the process.
Waterloo completed the comeback in the late stages of the second period, as Jacob Cascagnette (Kitchener/Ottawa 67's, OHL) jumped out of the penalty box and started a 3-on-2 rush with Nicoll and Michael Morgan (Scarborough/North York Rangers, OJHL). The Morgan pass for Nicoll ended up right on the doorstep, and the veteran forward pitchforked home a rebound to make it 3-2 Waterloo after 40 minutes.
The battle of Waterloo heated up at the conclusion of the period, when Laurier forward Brandon Robinson instigated a skirmish that resulted in four 10-minute misconducts. But the rough stuff seemed to fortify Waterloo's defensive resolve, as they clogged lanes and blocked shots through the entire final frame – Laurier outshot Waterloo in the final 20 minutes by a paltry 6-2 margin. After Sime and his defence corps weathered one final storm with a late Laurier power play, the Warriors had captured their first win of 2018-19.
Waterloo will look to make it two games in a row when they host the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, October 13. Puck drop is slated for 7pm from the Columbia Icefield Arena.
