Bittens battle for faceoff glory
So much for brotherly love.
Over the past 12 months, Will and Sam Bitten have been engaged in an epic battle for bragging rights that could be settled Friday when the siblings from Gloucester meet for what is likely the last time in the Ontario Hockey League.
In fact, 19-year-old Will says it’s a big part of why he wanted to get back on the ice after missing much of February with a nasty ankle sprain.
“I get to play my brother,” he smiles.
The truth is, though, Will and Sam do more than just play — they keep score. Not of goals or hits, but faceoff wins, and according to Will, Sam has an inherent advantage in the circle.
“He’s just really strong on the stick,” says the Hamilton Bulldogs forward. “He’s bigger, stronger and playing centre all the time. I know I keep switching between wing and centre. I played centre my whole life, but when you play wing, you kind of stop taking them.”
Sam, an Ottawa 67’s rookie, laughs.
“He’s two years older, so he should have the experience. Yeah, I’ve been playing centre my whole life but he’s been pretty good on the circle,” the 17-yearold adds. “So, no, I don’t buy that at all. It’s an even game here.”
The competition started last March when the Bulldogs were in Ottawa and the brothers — who sound identical, but look nothing alike on or off the ice — started against each other for the first time on the junior stage.
“I ended up winning the draw pretty easy. I still think he let me, just for that one,” Sam remembers. It’s been back and forth ever since.
“It’s just kind of a fun thing, kind of respect. It’s cool for our parents and our family members who are all watching, and growing up watching Will play — now I’m playing against him and lining up against him, so it’s pretty cool.”
Going into Friday’s game, which is the last of five regularseason matchups between the teams, Sam has a 2-1 edge on opening draws — which are the ones the Bittens are counting — and a 4-3 lead over his brother in the circle all-time.
Will, meanwhile, has the better overall faceoff numbers — 51.1 per cent to Sam’s 42.7.
Sam knows the interfamilial contest is his for the taking, especially since there’s a good chance Will, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, will graduate from the OHL to pro at the end of the season. So what’s his strategy?
“I think with my brother, he has the strength advantage by a little bit, so I try to play mind games with him and mess him up,” Sam says.
“I try to come in aggressively and he thinks I’m going to go in, be the first stick on the ice and then I just kind of pull it back, swipe it back. It’s this thing I’ve been working on—
He pauses.
“You’re not going to go tell him, are you?”
Like Sam, Will loves to win and is incredibly competitive — a quality they both say was inherited from their mom, a former Olympic badminton player.
But he loves Sam, too, which means he’ll be sporting a smile no matter who takes home the faceoff crown.
“I’m pretty happy if he wins it too, to be honest,” he says. “It’s nice to see your younger brother do well.”
After missing the past four games, Will returned to action Thursday in St. Catharines.
His Bulldogs came back to beat Niagara 5-4 in overtime — the team’s first win in four meetings with the IceDogs this campaign. They face each other twice more before the regular-season wraps up.
On top of hosting the 67’s Friday at FirstOntario Centre, the Bulldogs also welcome the Oshawa Generals to town Saturday. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
NOTES: The Soo Greyhounds clinched the Hamilton Spectator trophy as the OHL team with the best regular-season record with a
win over the Saginaw Spirit Wednesday. No word yet on whether the league will pull the prize out of storage, where it has gathered dust for at least the last decade, to present it to the champs this year.