LONG-term injury victim Chris Higgins is edging closer to full fitness but will again be missing from the Belfast Giants roster for the weekend Challenge Cup double-header with the Fife Flyers.
The action starts with tonight’s clash in Scotland (7.15pm) before the teams meet again at the SSE Arena tomorrow (5pm).
Higgins has missed virtually the entire season, meaning that Brandon Benedict has had more ice-time than expected as his primary role was to be as a coach.
Benedict has seen at first-hand a mixed bag of results and performances, culminating in a tally of just three points from the last three games.
The Canadian was disappointed at the team’s failure to kill off the Cardiff Devils last week, after leading 2-1, and also the Dundee Stars when a 2-0 advantage was cancelled out as the visitors stole the extra point by winning on penalties.
The Giants will probably welcome the opportunity to put things right in the Challenge Cup with a place in the knock-out stages already achieved.
“We need three points from the two games to go top and both games are going to be a battle,” said Benedict.
They’ll come out flying and, like a lot of places on the road this season, it’s a difficult place to go.”
A lack of discipline and an inability to close out games have been recurring themes as the Giants have incurred more minutes in the penalty-box than any of their rivals.
Benedict, although by no means the biggest culprit, takes a share of the blame.
“The biggest thing is that we have to be more disciplined and I include myself in that because I’ve taken a few two-minuters,” he said.
“When you’re killing penalties all night it has a negative effect on the team.
“Against Dundee we didn’t play for the 60 minutes and you can’t go playing in spurts of five or 10 minutes then take a period off.
“We went 2-0 up in the first and were playing well but we can’t sit back and think it’s going to be an easy night because there are no easy nights in this league.
“There’s going to be momentum shifts but we must stay focused and consistent for 60 or 65 minutes or whatever it takes, starting against the Flyers.”
