Incredible performance turns to heartbreak for high school goalie Sam Simon

Even when you're at your absolute best, you may still not get the outcome you want. For Fort Collins high school hockey goaltender Sam Simon, that was exactly the case as his record-tying, phenomenal performance in a championship game ended in a 1-0 loss. 

Simon was between the pipes for his team as they took on Valor Christian at the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado yesterday for the Colorado State High School Hockey Championship. Simon faced a total of 85 shots in the game, stopping all but one, which ended the game after five overtime periods. Yes, you read that right, FIVE OVERTIME PERIODS. 

“Obviously we’re disappointed,” Simon told Colorodoan.com. “It’s a save I could make all night long, I just didn’t make it. I kind of let them down a little bit.”

What a guy! Still willing to take the blame after a performance believed to have tied a national record in the U.S. Perhaps that's why he serves as captain for his team even though he's a netminder. The game, by the way, was the longest in Colorado state history. Simon's save total went like this: He stopped 14 shots in the first period, 18 in the second and 12 in the third, giving him 44 in regulation. Each overtime period is eight minutes. He had seven in the first, four in the second, nine in the third, and 12 in the fourth, and eight in the fifth. Even the opposing coach made sure to praise him following the game. 

"Sam Simon did a great job. There's so many superlatives to describe his performance, but he was outstanding," said Valor Christian coach George Gwozdecky. "Simon kept them in the game. He did a wonderful job."

Not the outcome Simon and his teammates wanted, but a night they'll never forget just the same. 

“I’m just out there having fun,” Simon said. “Obviously winning is fun, so could have had more fun tonight.”