BYU’s oldest and fiercest rivalry is fought on much more than just the football field.his weekend, BYU hockey will take on the University of Utah Skatin’ Utes. The teams play in Salt Lake City on Friday and Provo on Saturday.

The Cougars (3-8), who have been slowed by injuries since the beginning of the season, will have a number of key players back for the series.

Team captain Josh Burkart, a senior forward from Highland, Mich., said to expect a battle.

“Oh yeah, you get mean out there,” he said. “It’s going to be hard-hitting, a lot of shots, a lot of goals, fights, penalties… you always want to beat Utah.”

The Skatin’ Utes were founded in 2006, and the youth of the program has led to some lopsided wins by BYU in the past. However, this year seems different. The Utes (6-3) have beaten the same teams as the Cougars and are roughly equal in league rankings.

Starting goaltender Josh Antoniuk, a junior from Alberta, Canada, said the team worked hard in practice and focused on stepping up its preparation.

“We need to make sure we don’t take them lightly,” he said. “Last year we took them lightly a couple times and they ended up outshooting us, even though we ended up winning.”

The Cougars will concentrate on keeping the Utes’ scoring chances low and keeping the puck out of their defensive zone.

The Halloween showdown in Provo starts at 7:30 p.m. at Peaks Ice Arena.