By Kris Smith
The 21-year-old is in his second season with his hometown team and he believes that this team have the right character to complete their mid-season turnaround.
Garrigan said: “I think we have a really great chance of making the playoffs this year, if you look at where we were before Christmas.
“I would say a lot of teams and fans had probably ruled us out of the playoffs because it was such a big gap but we have turned our season around after that break and we are definitely in the race now, so I think we are more than capable of finishing in that top eight.”
Comparing this season to his rookie one last year, Garrigan found the Elite League even more competitive and believes that it is reflected in the league standings.
He added: “In terms of tightness of the league, last year we saw that on any given day, any team could beat a anyone and now this year, more skilled players have joined the league and the competitiveness level has gone up again.
“We have beaten Belfast a bunch of times this season and we have proven that we can beat any team or be beaten by any team but if you look at the league it is still tight between all the teams.”
The Dundonian has also discovered over the past two seasons that the festive break in December is when playoff hockey really begins.
“It was exciting to be in that playoff race last year but I feel like it is the same for every team after that Christmas break, as everyone begins to treat every match like a playoff game and every point is crucial”, said Craig.
Garrigan also insists that one key aspect every team needs to have in order to have a shot of making the post-season is consistency.
He explained: “One big thing a team needs to have in this league is consistency, it seems like every team has lacked it at some points as every team has went throw a slump and a run of losing games but consistency is key if you want to make it to the playoffs and do some damage.”
This weekend the Stars are on the road to Coventry Blaze on Saturday before hosting Cardiff Devils on Sunday and you can get your tickets for Sunday’s match HERE.
