The De Smet Spartans and Chaminade Red Devils need no introductions to each other.

The Metro Catholic Conference foes will collide in the Mid-States Club Hockey Association’s Challenge Cup semifinals. No. 3-seeded Chaminade will meet No. 2-seeded De Smet.

Both coaches said the rivalry between the schools is a good one.

“I think so,” said De Smet coach John Mattingly Jr. “A lot of our boys played together growing up, and many still play on the same club teams.  It is a good, clean rivalry.”

Chaminade coach Nathan Hirsch agreed.

“This is a very good rivalry between two very good MCC programs,” Hirsch said. “We expect a great atmosphere with packed house at Hardee’s Ice Plex for both games. It should be a lot of fun and we know what we need to do to play at Scottrade on March 3.”

The two teams begin play Thursday (Feb. 20) at the Hardee’s Ice Plex. Faceoff is at 6:45 p.m. Game 2 will be played at 8:30 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 22).

The winner will play who survives the matchup between CBC and Lindbergh at 8 p.m. March 3 at the Scottrade Center.

In the quarterfinals, Chaminade was taken to the limit by Oakville. The Red Devils won the opener 5-3 but lost 3-2 in Game 2. However, Chaminade prevailed in the mini-game 3-2.

De Smet swept Westminster Christian Academy. The Spartans scored 5-2 and 3-0 wins over the Wildcats to advance.

The Spartans are hot, having won their last nine games. Their last loss came Jan. 3 to CBC.

However, Mattingly Jr. said his squad has room to improve.

“We have yet to see our best hockey this playoffs,” Mattingly Jr. said. “The final game of the quarterfinals was the best effort by our club so far, but we are still a few steps away from our potential.”

His club is ready for Chaminade, saying the mood of the Spartans is one of being “calm and confident.”

De Smet knows how to win close games. The Spartans play team hockey.

“Most of our games have been won in the third period,” Mattingly Jr. said .”We have not shown panic or individualistic play when we were down.  This is a very good sign.”

Chaminade worked hard to get past Oakville in the quarterfinals. Hirsch liked what he saw from his Red Devils in that series.

His squad know what must be done to win and move in. It has displayed those traits all postseason.

“We just came off of a hard-fought series against a solid Oakville team where we advanced in shootouts,” Hirsch said. “Before that, we had to beat Vianney in the final game of the round-robin to move on. We’re healthy and we’ve been playing do-or-die hockey for two weeks now.

“Our team has shown a lot of grit and character and that will continue in the semifinals. It should be a fun Series. The (club’s) mood is great but we’re not satisfied with just being in the Final Four. We have more work to do. Our goal is to play for the Challenge Cup and win it and we’ve got to win three more games to do that. We’re taking one game at a time beginning with Thursday.”

The two teams squared off twice times during the regular season. Chaminade took the first meeting 6-4 bak in early November. In the next matchup, the Spartans prevailed with a 5-0 win. The two teams in the round robin that began the playoffs and De Smet scored a 2-1 victory.

Those games gave the Spartans a good read on their opponent.

“They have a solid core of defense that makes a good first pass,” Mattingly Jr. said. “If you are not on your game as far as the backcheck, it can be painful.”

Despite winning the last two games against Chaminade, Mattingly Jr. said he does not worry about the Spartans being overconfident.

“Zero. We have a lot of varsity experience in the locker room,” Mattingly Jr. said. “We know it’s a totally different game right now. Chaminade is as good a club as any in Mid-States.”

Likewise, Chaminade learned much about De Smet that it hopes to use in the semifinals.

“De Smet has a very explosive offense specifically with (Charles) Combs, (Trent) Frederic and (Jeffrey) Makowski,” Hirsch said. “We need to limit their chances and bear down and capitalize on our offensive opportunities. We didn’t capitalize on our offensive opportunities when we played De Smet in the round-robin and that was the difference in the game.”

Hirsch believed the two teams would meet again.

“This is the matchup that we expected in the semis,” Hirsch said. “It should be a very exciting series.”

The Spartans, Mattingly Jr., said are getting good production from three lines. That will be important in the series.

“It is the only way we can play at this point,” Mattingly Jr. said. “Our two goalies (Connor Walsh and Aaron Brickman) have been terrific. We have been rotating two through playoffs. We are blessed with two outstanding goalies, and they are pushing each other.”

The Red Devils have been winning as a team, Hirsch said, and that must continue if Chaminade is to advance.

“It will take a great team effort from everyone to win this series and move on to play for the Challenge Cup,” Hirsch said. “We have had solid goaltending from (John) Kern, (Ellis) Burgett and (Drew) Shapiro all year. We need the same in this series.”

In a short series, getting out quickly in the opener is important. However, Mattingly Jr. that is not necessarily the case.

“As strange as this may sound it is very important and not important at all,” Mattingly Jr. said about playing well in the first game. “While you certainly want to be on your game from the first time you step on the ice in Game One, the playoff structure puts everyone in a must win Game Two situation. It makes for some very exciting games.”

Hirsch wants a “a great team effort and we need a great start” for the opener.

“In a two-game series with a mini-game, you have a huge advantage if you win Game 1,” Hirsch said. “We’ll start from there and take it one period at a time, one game at a time.”

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