Sims, 60, guided the Komets to five championships between 1993 and 2012, with a stint coaching the NHL's San Jose Sharks in between.It was a big night for Ryan Lasch and Lincoln Kaleigh Schrock.
But for the Komets as a whole, Friday was a bad night.
Lasch had a hat trick and Schrock scored his first goal of the season, but the Komets gave up four unanswered goals in the third period of a 6-4 loss to the Reading Royals in Pennsylvania.
The Royals (17-7-1) have won 9 of 11 games. The Komets (12-10-1) had won 4 of 6 before their first ever-game against Reading.
The Komets were coming off a 7-3 victory Wednesday over Kalamazoo, during which Josh Brittain had a hat trick. By the end of the second period Friday, Lasch had his third goal of the night, giving him four goals and 10 points in the last five games.
Schrock, who fought former teammate Bryant Molle early in the game, also scored in the second period as he was hauled down from behind.
But a 4-2 lead wasn't enough for the Komets to get the win in front of 3,081 fans at the Sovereign Center.
Ian O'Connor scored, then Yannick Tifu caught a pass at the blue line and beat goalie Kenny Reiter to tie it at 4 at 5:03 of the third period.
After Daniel Maggio got penalized for elbowing, Denny Urban scored the game-winner, during a power play, at 13:57. Joel Champagne quickly cemented the victory during an odd-man rush.
The Komets play Saturday at Wheeling, W.Va., then return home to face Kalamazoo on Sunday.
Note: Center Colin Chaulk missed a fourth straight game with a shoulder injury, but he was on the bench as an assistant coach.
