The Windsor Spitfires are gearing up to meet a familiar foe.
The Spits will take on their opponents from last season's Memorial Cup final, the Erie Otters, on the road Saturday. The contest with the Otters is part of three weekend games for Windsor.
The Otters won the Ontario Hockey League's J. Ross Robertson Cup as last year's tournament champions and were heavily favoured going into the Memorial Cup, which was played at Windsor's WFCU Centre. The Spitfires beat the Otters in the round-robin game 4-2, then beat them again in the final 4-3.
Though both teams have gone through changes since they last met May 28, the anticipation for the rematch is still there, according to Spitfires captain Aaron Luchuk.
"It'll be exciting for sure to get back in there," says Luchuk. "I'm sure it'll be a hostile environment with their fans being all over us and we're looking forward to the challenge."
Luchuk's teammate, forward Logan Brown, says he would not be surprised if Otters players who were on the WFCU Centre ice in May are still bitter.
"I'm sure there's going to be some, I don't know if you'd call it bad blood, but hard feelings," says Brown. "You never want to lose to a team, especially in a big tournament like that. It's just another game but I'm sure there's some history there."
This will be the first regular season meeting between the two teams since the Memorial Cup. Last season the Otters took the regular season series from Windsor with three wins and one shootout win.
Spits head coach Trevor Letowski was an assistant coach last season under Rocky Thompson. He says both teams are in flux and he doesn't think the Otters are much different than the Spitfires.
"They have a new coach, we have a new coach," says Letowski. "It's just a little different. To me they're very similar to us. They have some high-end players and then they're bringing some young players along. Their look will be very similar to what we look like."
The rematch is Saturday at Erie Insurance Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm.
