Drew Joyal of the North Bay Trappers midgets is set to dress behind Julian Sime when the Troops play host to the Oshawa Generals, who boast the best record in the Eastern Conference, at 7 p.m. tonight (Wednesday).
The Battalion visits the Sudbury Wolves on Friday night.
Never heard of Sime or Joyal?
When the club's regular goaltenders Brent Moran and backup Mat Woroniuk got hurt last week, the team acquired Julian Sime from the Mississauga Chargers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, Stan Butler said Tuesday.
Sime, 18, was an 11th-round pick of the Kitchener Rangers in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection.
“We’re waiting on approval from the league,” said Butler, director of hockey operations and head coach, noting that the Rangers had deleted Sime from their protected list.
“The Chargers were good enough, in-season, to release him to us, so we’re just waiting for that. As we stand now, as long as his release goes through today, he’ll be our starting goalie tomorrow, and our midget goalie will be our backup.”
Moran is suffering a shoulder injury with Woroniuk out with a leg injury.
The services of Bradley Van Schubert, whose OHL rights are held by the Owen Sound Attack and who’s been playing with the OJHL’s Newmarket Hurricanes, were obtained under the OHL’s emergency goaltender protocol only for the games at Hamilton and Erie.
Van Schubert relieved overager Moran against the Otters, giving up the final two goals and taking the loss.
“These are longterm, legitimate injuries,” Butler noted of those suffered by Moran and Woroniuk. “I don’t know exactly how long they’ll be, but I don’t think either goalie will be back before Christmas, so we were in a tough spot.”
Sime, a Mississauga native who stands five-foot-nine and weighs 190 pounds, played 20 games this season with the Chargers, posting a 3.85 goals-against average, a .906 save percentage, one shutout and a 4-14 won-lost record.
Centre Brett McKenzie paces North Bay’s points production with 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 25 games, and right winger Steve Harland has 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points in 26 games. Defenceman Adam Thilander has moved into third place in team scoring with three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 24 games.
Butler acknowledged that, given the loss of Moran and Woroniuk, the Troops may face an uphill fight in coming weeks.
“We’re not the most gifted team in the league. We’re not the most talented team in the Eastern Conference, but I do think we have kids here who have been here three or four years and are used to winning. I like to think that we’ve developed something of a winning culture here, and as coaches we’re going to strive to be the best team we can be.”
