FAMILY rivalry is at stake when Dean Skinns lines up for Swindon against Basingstoke in the EPL play-off quarter-finals this weekend.

The netminder’s father Tony is equipment manager for the Bison and many of his family - including himself - are based in the Hampshire town.

Skinns has had two separate spells at Basingstoke, beginning his senior career there in 2001/02 before leaving at the end of 2004/05 having made 30 appearances.

The gloveman returned for 2010/11 and stayed for just over a season before departing for the Wildcats.

Skinns said: “It’s always nice to play here at your home town team, but it would be even nicer to knock them out. I look forward to it, it’s a really big weekend.

“He (Tony) came to the Swindon-Guildford game with me on Saturday and he wouldn’t shut up the whole way down there, when I wanted him to give it a rest.

“The last two times we played at Basingstoke he picked me up on the way to the rink, but on Sunday he didn’t.

“He said, ‘you won one of the last two against us so I’m not going to pick you up today’, so I drove on my own.”

Swindon were defeated 6-3 at the Herd’s Planet Ice home on Sunday but previously had picked up three points out of a possible four in Hampshire.

And Skinns feels his team have a decent opportunity to triumph over two legs this weekend and progress to the semi-finals at Coventry SkyDome.

“I think we’ve got a good chance,” he said.

“We won one game there (2-0 in October) and also went to overtime there in a game we were leading (Cats lost 4-3 later that month).

“Sunday was really the only away game we got blown out, but generally we tend to play well against them. Hopefully they can have a little dip this weekend.”