By Kris Smith
The Stars are just 24 hours away from the beginning of their playoff campaign and they head to South Wales to face the number two seeded, Cardiff Devils in the first leg of two 60-minute games.
Marc LeFebvre has spent the past week preparing his side for a battle and has instilled the mentality that anything can happen in a playoff game, which has been seen time and time again.
Despite Dundee’s woes against Cardiff this season, none of the players feel any negatives heading into the two-legged Quarter-Final tie.
Veteran forward, Josh Brittain was on the Devils team that made it to the final last season, as they lost to Belfast Giants and since then he has been devoted to getting back to the championship game.
Now, with his old team standing in the Stars’ way, he said: “Everyone is feeling really good after Sunday night.
“Everyone is on a high but it is important to remember that we cannot get too high, as we still have a job to do and coming in playing against Cardiff, which is my old team, is going to hold a lot of meaning to beat those guys.
“So, we have to make sure everyone is pulling in the right direction like we were in Fife in the last game and that was probably our best 60-minute game, at a time when it really mattered.
“It is going to be a great test for us, we have come up short against Cardiff all season but the stars have really aligned for us to come in and look to upset these guys.”
Canadian blueliner, Kyle Pouncy is making his first appearance in the Elite League playoffs this weekend and he also shared an insight to the mindset of the players as they head into the Vindico Arena tomorrow, adding: “We are obviously buzzing right now, it is a full year of commitment from the guys and now, we are finally in.
“We did not think we would be in that position where it all came down to one game to decide our fate but that is the way the cards were dealt and we just found a way to win it, so we are over the moon and pumped to get to the next stage.
“Now we just need to tone down and refocus on the task at hand with Cardiff this weekend, obviously they have had our number a little bit, but in hockey it is hard to keep beating the same teams.
“So, we are going to come back and give them our best and anything can happen in a two-game series, also when we are at our best, everyone knows what we can do and we have been preparing all for this all week.
“We appreciate the support from everyone and we look forward to that for the rest of the way and we just cannot wait to get going.”
Defenseman, Chris McKay is also making his EIHL Playoff debut tomorrow and he discussed how playoff hockey is like no other, so it is up to the Stars to make something happen and to fight like they have done all year.
He said: “We were fighting to the very end and that has been the epitome of our whole season, we have been grinding all year through a lot of ups and downs but we are getting hot now at the right point.
“Everybody was pulling the rope in the right direction on Sunday night, so we just have to carry that into Cardiff and I think if play like we did on Sunday then we have a very good chance of making it to Nottingham.
“Playoff games are the most fun, it is the best time of the year, everyone is competing and it is a new level of hockey.
“I think everyone just has to go in with the right mindset and be excited, but obviously there will be a bit of nerves but it is an amazing time of year and anything can happen, so I am super excited for it.”
All images: Derek Black.
