Cardiff Devils and Belfast Giants clash in a six of the best ice hockey series starting on Wednesday.
If Andrew Lord and his Devils come out on top they will fire up their chances of being crowned the best team in British ice hockey.
Devils are out to celebrate their 30th anniversary season by lifting trophies and Giants are one of the teams out to stop them.
The rivals clash at Ice Arena Wales in a Challenge Cup semi-final first leg fixture on Wednesday (7.30pm) with the return in Belfast a week later.
Lord’s men, who stand top of the table, also have another four League matches against Belfast.
Devils will look to their best and most experienced players to play leading roles over the remaining two months of this season.
Lord, Joey Martin and Sean Bentivoglio have joined forces on a potent first line for Devils, while smooth-skating Gleason Fournier and offensive Andrew Hotham are both among those making sparks fly on defence.
Patrick Bordeleau, Cardiff’s 6ft 6ins enforcer, will aim to make his physical presence felt against Giants on Wednesday with some big hits – and he’ll challenge Giants’ Matt Nickerson to try and stop him.
Devils will look to playmakers Patrick Asselin, Layne Ulmer, Jake Morissette and more to find ways of opening up a fast and highly skilled Giants team.
Perhaps most importantly of all, though, Devils will roll four forward lines, keeping their players as fresh as possible during a run which sees them play six matches in 12 days.
That starts against Giants at home this Wednesday in the cup, followed by Nottingham Panthers away on Saturday (7pm) and Manchester Storm in Cardiff Bay the following evening (6pm).
Devils will fly to Belfast for the second leg of their cup tie next Wednesday before taking on Coventry Blaze away followed by Panthers at home.
Cardiff are League leaders, staying clear thanks to wins against Nottingham 5-0 and Fife 2-1 last weekend, while Belfast won back-to-back matches against Sheffield.
Belfast player-coach Derrick Walser brings his team to Cardiff Bay intent on wrecking Devils hopes of playing the cup final at their home rink on Sunday, March 5.
“We are a team who hunts pucks and if opponents turn it over at the wrong spot they will be exposed,” said Walser. “That is what happened to Sheffield.”
Lord, whose Devils team will play in their black cup kit, must make a big selection decision with goals ace Guillaume Doucet hoping for a recall to action after missing Cardiff’s matches against Nottingham and Fife.
Devils carry an extra import and if Doucet does return Lord will have to rest somebody else. He may be tempted to do that with crucial League matches against Panthers away and Manchester Storm at home this weekend.
Cardiff have attracted six successive sell-out attendances at Ice Arena Wales, but there are tickets available for Wednesday’s match against Belfast.
They are available via the club’s official website, the ticket hotline on 0800 0842 666 or in person at the rink. The semi-final is not on season tickets.