ON THE MOVE: Sean Timmons heads up the ice this winter in his freshman campaign for the Skidmore College men’s hockey team. Former Princeton Day School standout Timmons has scored three goals in 14 appearances so far this winter for the Division III Thoroughbreds. (Photo Courtesy of Skidmore College Sports Information)

Sean Timmons didn’t waste any time making an impact this winter for the Skidmore College men’s hockey team.

After being scratched from the team’s season opener against SUNY Canton, former Princeton Day School star forward Timmons made his collegiate debut when Skidmore played at the University of New England on November 7.

“I didn’t really know what I was doing out there but I didn’t want to go back to sitting out,” said Timmons.

“On my second shift, I got the puck in the offensive zone and I shot as hard as I could and it went in. It was pretty awesome, I didn’t expect that to happen.”

Having wanted to play college hockey as long as he can remember, Timmons didn’t want to wait to get his shot at the next level. Emerging as one of the most prolific scorers in PDS program history, Timmons was on the radar of many college programs. But while most coaches wanted him to get extra seasoning, Division III Skidmore offered him the chance to play this winter and that proved to be decisive.

“A bunch of the other schools wanted me to play juniors or do a post-graduate year,” said Timmons.

“Skidmore wanted me to come and play right away. It was a great fit academically, it was a perfect fit all the way around.”

As the youngest player on the team, Timmons has a big learning curve. “We had a bunch of captain’s practices in the fall; coach told me that it was going to be an adjustment,” said Timmons.

Now that he has seen game action at the college level, Timmons is learning to speed things up.

“The biggest transition is feeling comfortable on the ice, it has taken awhile,” said Timmons.

“When you get the puck on your stick, you have to know where you are going. You can’t wait. You have to think ahead, you don’t have time to make up your mind.”

In addition to thinking quicker on the ice, Timmons is working on getting bigger.

“There is the physicality aspect, everyone is my size or bigger,” said the 6’2, 195-pound Timmons.

“We started lifting when we got here, we have an athletic trainer working with us. We work out a couple of times a week during the season. I am definitely more developed.”

With Skidmore currently at 3-12-2 overall, Timmons acknowledges that the team is working on developing a winning mentality.

“It has been a rough year, we are having trouble playing a full 60 minutes,” said Timmons.

“When we choose to play, we can play with anyone. We have been in the games more lately, we had a 1-1 tie with SUNY Potsdam and a 4-2 loss to No. 9 Plattsburgh State. We are still trying to fit the pieces together. Every minute of the game counts, you never give up for a moment.”

In Timmons’ view, Skidmore has some good pieces in place. “We have 11 freshmen and a bunch of sophomores so we have a bright future,” said Timmons. “We have six d-men and only one is a senior.”

In the meantime, Timmons is looking to make the most of the last month or so of his freshman season. “Individually I want to help the team as much as possible and get more ice time,” said Timmons, who has three goals in 14 appearances.

“I have been on the 4th line most of the year. I was on the third line last weekend and was getting regular shifts.”

Looking ahead to his sophomore season, Timmons is determined to be a top line performer.

“I am focusing on getting stronger, quicker, and faster,” said Timmons. “I want to make it easier for me to adjust and work on being more of a scoring threat.”