Two months ago nearly every Adrenaline fan went to their calendars and circled a June 10/11 road encounter with the CBR Brave The game will have a little something extra for the Adrenaline and their fans.

On April 26, just two days after an emphatic Adrenaline season opening win over the defending champion Northstars, long time Adelaide player Wehebe Darge made a bold decision to play for the CBR Brave.

Darge won the 2016 AIHL MVP while playing with Adelaide and tallied a club record 52 points on his way to a dominant season. 

Now, he plays his first game in his new colours. Even more amazingly he will play his first game with his new club against the team he scored all of his 210 points in 147 AIHL games for. 

In the words of famous ESPN 8 the Ocho reporter Pepper Brooks: "That's a bold strategy, Cotton."

The fun begins at 5:30PM local time on Saturday with the follow-up on Sunday at 4:30PM local time. The games can be heard on the CBR Brave's MixLR channel. 

Head coach Sami Mantere says there is a lot on the line this weekend. 

"The boys will take some extra motivation to play him," says head coach Sami Mantere. "It is going to be very interesting to face Wehebe."

"We also know how we can maybe take him off his game. We have to treat him like any other good player. Make him uncomfortable and take away some space. But we can't keep our focus on one guy too much," he says. 

Players like Adrenaline alternate captain Darren Corstens feel the same. While playing Wehebe will be different, Corstens says the Adrenaline were always bigger than just one talented player.  

"I've known Wehebe a long time and if I said it would not be weird seeing him in any colours but ours I'd be lying," said Adrenaline assistant captain Darren Corstens. "That said, we have shown we have plenty of depth to fill the void. We have a lot of good local players who all have played well."

The Adrenaline have also benefited from strong play from their imports. Cameron Critchlow averages two points per game, good for second in the AIHL, and Matt Murphy is with the leaders in save percentage in the crease. 

If you remove all the hype around Darge playing his former team, the actual weekend double has massive implications on the Adrenaline season.

The CBR Brave look like the team to beat this season. They sit in first place and have a star-studded roster that includes AIHL points leader Steve Blunden. 

They bolstered the side that went to the 2016 AIHL Grand Final by using their powers to recruit tremendous talent up front like Darge and Brian Bales, a former AIHL MVP with Newcastle. Bales and Darge join 2016 recruits Jan Safar and Georgie Wudrick (another former MVP) who made the move over from Newcastle too.

Then there's playing in the unique venue "The Brave Cave". The Adrenaline will change in their locker room and when game time comes, march through a public bathroom, through a pile of fans in the crowd, and across the ice to the bench. 

It has built a reputation of an intimidating place to play. Last season the Adrenaline had four significant injuries in just one game. Sean Greer took a puck to the face and missed a few weeks. Import Zach Firlotte got a stick to the face which ended his season. Ted Fabijan injured his shoulder and missed the next month. Goalie Rusty Brewer hurt his knee and missed the rest of the season. 

Two seasons ago, the Adrenaline had a bus accident on the way to the game. CBR has not been kind. 

"We're gunning two away wins. It's always big picking up points on the road and it's something we're gunning for especially after the carnage last year. " says Corstens. "It really is a big weekend for us and I know we have the guys to do it." 

Meanwhile coach Sami says the team will have put all the off-ice stuff aside and focus on how to shut Canberra down.

"The Brave can score goals, that's no secret. But we have been able to add quite a bit to our game in team defence over the last few weeks," says Mantere. "We are doing a better job of keeping the puck out of the danger zones."

However, Mantere adds that the offensive production needs to increase too.

"We have been a bit wasteful lately, especially looking at the Newcastle game from two weeks ago," the coach adds. 

The Adrenaline are coming off a stretch where they took six of a possible nine points to put them within striking distance of the coveted top four. Last game they lost 3-2 in a shootout to Newcastle despite firing 50 shots on net. 

"We'll be looking at our senior players like Greg Oddy, Darren Corstens and Josef Rezek to really step up because we can't let the Brave dictate the game," says Mantere. 

The Adrenaline players and management know there is a great opportunity in front of them. 

"From talking to the players I have no doubt the belief is there," says club president Eric Balnar. "There's a good vibe going around the club right now and this is a great chance to set the tone for the remainder of the season." 

Stay tuned for updates on streaming links.