On Saturday at 7 p.m. at SUNY Fredonia’s Steele Hall, Brockport assistant captain Mike Meredith returns home to the ice he grew up on, while his father, Jeff Meredith, leads the Blue Devils in a crucial game near the end of his 36th season as Fredonia men’s ice hockey head coach.

“It’s pretty cool coming back to my hometown rink to be able to play. It’s pretty special to be able to do that,” Mike Meredith said.

Mike Meredith was a member of the NCCYHA Steelers program throughout his youth. He then advanced to play college hockey in the SUNYAC, the same conference that his father coaches in.

“He skated on this ice his whole life. For him to come back as a college hockey player and play against Fredonia, I think, is pretty cool,” Jeff Meredith said.

Brockport forward Mike Meredith, right, celebrates a goal. Meredith has four goals and four assists on the season, his third at SUNY Brockport.

This weekend is not the first meeting between the two, but it might be the most important one. Both teams enter the weekend hovering around the cutoff for postseason play in the SUNYAC tournament. A win will go a long way to determine the fate of each club this season.

“It’s a huge game for both Fredonia and Brockport in terms of playoff position,” Mike Meredith said. “Obviously, it being against my dad, it’s a little different for me. It’s pretty cool being able to play against him.”

Mike Meredith is in his third season on the ice at Brockport, as the pandemic shut down his freshman season. He has one additional year of eligibility remaining, which he plans to play at Brockport as a graduate student. He graduated in December with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and now will pursue a Master’s Degree in Athletic Administration.

After Jeff coached Mike in his youth, the two have been foes in recent history. This is the third year they have played against each other, and this weekend marks the third meeting this season, with the previous two held in Brockport.

“It definitely adds a little bit more to it for me. You want to win a little bit more to get the bragging rights in the household,” Mike Meredith said.

The two teams split the first two meetings this season, while Mike scored a goal against his hometown team in December.

“I’m not the biggest goal scorer,” Mike Meredith said. “To be able to score against my dad’s team was pretty cool.”

Jeff Meredith said, with a laugh, “I didn’t like giving up a goal, of course, but I realized that’s a memory of a lifetime. From that perspective, you’re happy for your son. Like any parent, we’re proud of him.”

Entering this weekend, Mike Meredith has four goals and four assists on the year. He has stepped into a bigger role this season and earned his father’s praise for being an assistant captain.

“He’s hard working, he’s physical. He plays a detailed game,” Jeff Meredith said of his son. “As a parent, if I’m sitting in the stands watching him play someone else, of course I watch him closely. But when it’s his team against our team, I might only catch him here or there because I’m watching the whole game, I’m watching my team.”

Mike Meredith added context to how he feels each game in Fredonia. “Going into Fredonia is always a little different than Fredonia coming to Brockport, because that’s the rink I grew up in. Every single home game, every practice was at that rink. Being on the opposite bench when we come in to play Fredonia is a little bit weird,” he said.

Leading up to each of the games, Mike said his teammates usually mention whenever they are set to play his dad’s team.

“I grew up watching almost every single Fredonia game. I used to be a Blue Devils fan. Now I can’t stand them,” Mike Meredith joked.

But after the game ends, all hard feelings are gone.

“After the game, it’s very civil. We don’t make jokes or brag about winning. We both know how hard it is to lose those games,” Mike Meredith said.

For Mike’s mother, Joanne, the game is much more stressful than it is for the participants. Jeff Meredith said the game is “very stressful” for his wife.

Mike Meredith said, “My mom hates it. She never knows who to root for. She just sits there and claps when either team scores.”

As a father, this weekend is another chance for Jeff Meredith to be involved in something not many people can say they were a part of. Jeff’s son Matt, Mike’s older brother, also played at Brockport.

“As a guy that’s done this for 40 years, college hockey is a great experience. The bonds that you create with your teammates, the memories, and the mentoring from your coach and those relationships with your coaches, those are just great life things,” Jeff Meredith said. “As a dad, to be able to have your son have those kinds of experiences, it’s really gratifying.”

But Saturday night, those feelings of gratitude will be put on pause for a few hours.

“It’s a huge game. These are two teams that are battling maybe for the last playoff spot, so that puts even more on the game,” Jeff Meredith said. “Hopefully we get a great crowd to come out and a lot of youth hockey people whose kids maybe someday will be doing the same thing.”