LEWISTON — For a handful of members of the Lewiston Maineiacs’ organization, This weekend’s playoff series will be bittersweet. For some of that handful, bitter is better.

Two players once skated for the Moncton Wildcats, another lives and trains in Moncton, and two other still once worked for the organization, including team president Bill Schurman.

“I’ve always been and I always will be thankful for everything that Moncton has done for me in the past,” Schurman said.

But, he was also quick to point out that the past is, well, the past.

Menawhile, on the ice, a pair of players once skating for the Wildcats will be under the microscope this weekend and throughout the first round, and perhaps non shining brighter than Russian forward Kirill Kabanov.

“It’s going to be really interesting, I’m so excited about it,” Kabanov said. “It’s pretty interesting, it’s going to be an interesting series for both teams and it’s going to be good hockey.”

Kabanov was very careful not to stoke any fires, though from the look in his eyes, there was clearly extra motivation.

“It’s really not a big deal, who we’re going to face,” Kabanov said. “I think it would be the same whatever team we’re facing.”

Teammate Matthew Bissonnette was as politically correct, but less determined to hide his excitement to face his former team.

“Obviously we want to beat them,” Bissonnette said. “I want to be a guy that’s going to contribute, obviously, make sure the coaches on the other side know it was a mistake trading me away and make my coaches on this side proud. I want to make my teammates realize, you know, I may have had a hard season, but playoffs can erase all that.”

Bissonnette spent his rookie season with them before being traded to Chicoutimi, where he played briefly before Lewiston acquired him.

“I remember quite a few things form there, though, they’re a great organization,” Bissonnette said. “They have a great coach (in Danny Flynn), he’s really a system guy and he knows what he’s doing. But we know what we’re doing, too. I think our coaches have broken down video and we feel like we have a pretty good game plan.”

Nick Champion knows the Wildcats, too, though his knowledge came the hard way. Last season, Moncton took out Rouyn-Noranda in the playoffs on its way to a President’s Cup title. The Huskies’ goalie? Nick Champion.

“I’m happy to have another chance at playing them,” Champion said. “I was eliminated by them last year, so obviously that plays into it. It just makes it that much more exciting.”

Maineiacs captain Cam Critchlow resides in Moncton. Last year, with Lewiston out of the playoffs, Critchlow had a seat front and center as Moncton marched through the playoffs.

“I got to watch them all last year win the Cup,” Critchlow said. “I trained in their gym all summer, skated on their ice all summer, so thank you, Moncton, for helping me get better.”

Even with a little bit of the inside knowledge, though, Critchlow and his teammates are well aware of the challenge Moncton poses.

“This is a big series, the 8-9 seeds are where most people see a possible upset happening,” Critchlow said. “They’re a pretty good team, but we’re also a pretty good team, I think. We’re pretty dangerous and we have a lot of guys who have been to playoffs before, as do they, they’re a good club. Hopefully we can take them down.”