By Aaron Bell
Scott Timmins has one of the best playoff beards in the history of hockey and he’s been putting it to good use.
The 19-year-old centre with the Windsor Spitfires set up the opening goal and then scored what proved to be the game-winner in Game 4 of the Rogers OHL Championship Series against the Brampton Battalion on Wednesday. That game put the Spitfires to within one win of winning their second OHL championship and first in 21 years.
They will get that chance tonight on home ice at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre (7:00 p.m. on TV Cogeco, Rogers TV and the OHL Action Pak).
Timmins, defenceman Ben Shutron and goalie Josh Unice were all brought to Windsor at the trade deadline from the Kitchener Rangers to bolster an already impressive lineup with some OHL championship and Memorial Cup experience – the only thing that was lacking from the Spitfires’ lineup.
“They’ve been there,” said Spitfires’ coach Bob Boughner. “They say the right things and the other guys feed off that.”
Timmins does all of the things that you need to win in the post season. He is outstanding on face-offs and plays against the opposition’s top offensive producers. He effectively held Christ Terry in check when they beat the Plymouth Whalers in six games. He was a key to shutting down stars like John Tavares and Nazem Kadri in their five-game win over the London Knights in the semi-finals and he frequently finds himself lining up against OHL player of the year Cody Hodgson in this series.
While stars like Taylor Hall, Andrei Loktionov and Ryan Ellis are carrying the load offensively for the Spitfires, the work of grinders like Timmins and the shutdown presence of Shutron on the blueline have been equally important in their playoff success.
“We’ve talked about it all playoffs,” Boughner said. “It’s a tough job to try to shut down Hodgson and (Matt) Duchene.”
Timmins said that after their 4-2 loss on home ice in Game 3, the Spitfires got back to the basics of their game and they are anxious to finish the series at home tonight.
“After the last game we were kind of disappointed in our effort and kind of let our game slip there,” said Timmins, who has six goals and 16 points and is a plus-14 in 19 playoff games. “We came back with a really good effort – we were physical all night and got pucks on (Brampton goalie Thomas) McCollum. We made it hard for him.”
Timmins first got the chance to work on his playoff beard last spring with the Rangers. He helped them win the OHL championship and advance to the championship game of the MasterCard Memorial Cup on home ice. As Memorial Cup hosts, the Rangers played with big expectations all season, similar to what the Spitfires have had this year after being ranked near the top of the Mosaik MasterCard CHL rankings.
Timmins is one win away from getting another chance to play in the Memorial Cup – this time in Rimouski, Quebec beginning next Saturday against the winner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League championship between the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Shawinigan Cataractes. He doesn’t plan on shaving his beard until that tournament is over and said that he loves the atmosphere of winning.
“It’s great (in Windsor),” Timmins said. “(We have) great coaches. They’ve got NHL experience so they know what they’re talking about back there. It’s a great group of guys. They’re here to win and the success we’re having this year is great.”
Despite holding a 3-1 lead in the Championship Series, Timmins said that the Spitfires aren’t taking anything for granted and expect to see Brampton’s best effort in Game 5.
“Nobody wants to lose,” Timmins said. “They’re going to bring their A-game. We’re going to have to keep up that tempo and keep going at them.”
Follow Game 5 of the Rogers OHL Championship Series online
