SIBLINGS ON SKATES

For Sam Bitten, playing against older brother Will was a big deal. Sam, a 67's centre, was lined up against Will, a Bulldogs centre, for the opening faceoff orchestrated by the two coaches Sunday. It was the first time the Gloucester-raised kids had played against each other.

Sam won the faceoff, but Will's Bulldogs won the battle: 3-1 — in the regular-season finale for both teams.

“I've been watching him play since I was seven or eight years old,” said Sam, who turns 17 on Tuesday. “I still have to pinch myself, playing in this league, first time playing against him. I think he let me win the draw, but I'll take it.”

The brothers are close, always have been. Will, who's 18, was selected in the third round of last year's National Hockey League draft (70th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens.

“I went to tournaments in Toronto to watch him play. I was there when he got drafted into the OHL,” Sam said. “When he got drafted by Montreal, I sat right beside him, cheering him on.”

On Sunday, about 30 family members plus friends watched the game at TD Place. The two brothers also exchanged on-ice banter, once during a scrum. Said Sam with a laugh: “I asked him, ‘I don't know who Mom's cheering for, but I hope she's cheering for me.' He said, ‘No, she's definitely cheering for me.' I asked him to fight, but he didn't want to.”

Sam, a 2016 draft pick by the 67's who was previously called up for nine games in midseason, said he and Will had some fun during the warm-up, too. “I was shooting pucks at his feet a bit, but he was doing it back.”

The 67's tried to acquire Will Bitten from the Flint Firebirds at the start of the season, but he wound up with the Bulldogs instead.

“I would have loved to have had (Will),” said Brown, the 67's coach and general manager. “Sam's going to be a good player for us for a long time. It's a great family, great kids.”