Simms, a Deer Lake native, was a member of the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts squad that captured the 2017 Allan Cup by defeating the Lacombe Generals of Alberta 7-5 in the championship final Saturday afternoon in Bouctouche, N.B.
“It was a surreal moment just to win a national championship. You don’t know when that chance will come again, so it was unbelievable,” Simms said Monday after spending a week in New Brunswick in the quest for his first major hockey title in a career that included a number of senior hockey seasons with three different teams and several in the Atlantic University Sport with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men.
Simms, known for his steady play on the blueline, played forward in the Allan Cup on a checking line where he was expected to provide speed and physicality.
He enjoyed being part of it all and had a blast playing up front. He just wanted to play his part and he believes the physical brand of hockey the Cats played throughout the tournament seemed to catch a lot of teams off guard.
“They weren’t used to such physical play, so we used that to our advantage,” he said.
He believes the schedule worked in the team’s favour, with two days off during the week, but gave credit to the guys for being able to keep the Cats ahead of the pack, with everybody making a contribution.
“It just goes to show it takes everybody and different roles to win something this big,” he said. “It was just a perfect formula.”
A celebration of the victory, the third Allan Cup win for the province, is expected to be held for the team over the next few weeks, but no details have been released about when that party will take place.
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