Chatham Maroons head coach Ron Horvat will be facing a familiar foe in the first round of the GOJHL playoffs.
The long-time St. Thomas Stars coach, and former part-owner, will be squaring off against his old team for Game 1 in Chatham Thursday night.
He admits there's more at stake than just a spot in the Western Conference semifinals.
"You want to beat anybody, but in this case, I think there's a little more to it," says Horvat, who says it'll be a family affair, too. "My cousin, Darren Kelly is their head coach, my nephew -- Cal [Horvat] -- he plays on the team. It's nice to go back, but there's definitely a little more there for me to beat them."
The Maroons have been missing some key players over the last few games of the season, including captain Steven Beenackers, but Horvat says the team expects to have a full lineup for game one against the Stars.
"There are a few guys who are coming back that haven't been with us for a while -- Steven Beenackers is one," says Horvat. "Just to get the captaincy back in the lineup is huge for the team."
Without naming anyone specifically, Horvat says some of the other Maroons have also been dealing with minor injuries, but they've been receiving treatment from local therapists and doctors and he's confident they'll be ready to start the playoffs.
The Maroons come into the series as the second-ranked team in the GOJHL's Western Conference -- the Stars earned the seventh seed.
Despite those rankings, Horvat knows they can't take anything for granted against a Stars team that beat the Maroons 5-1 on February 17, even though Chatham outshot St. Thomas 41-20.
"They've got some real firepower there and some solid defence," says Horvat. "Their goaltending -- he can steal them some games too, we saw that last time we were up there."
The first-round playoff series is also a rematch of last year's opening round match-up.
The Maroons won that series 4-1 before losing in the second round to the Leamington Flyers.
You can hear tonight's game on Country 92.9FM/630AM CFCO or online by clicking here.
You can also listen to the game via the Radio Player Canada app -- download it here.
Puck drop is set for 7pm at Chatham Memorial Arena.