Willem Kerr, Kai Elkie, and Kai Mencel each found the back of the net as the Danbury Hat Tricks opened their two-game series with a 3–1 victory over the visiting Elmira Aviators on Friday afternoon.
Goaltender Jon Dukaric was sharp between the pipes, stopping 17 of 18 shots. His glove save on a second-period breakaway proved to be a pivotal moment and helped swing momentum back in Danbury’s favor.
Kerr opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the first period. After sustained pressure in the offensive zone, Peter Freel forced the puck free from an Elmira defender near the corner. Liam Young, skating in his first NAHL game with the Hat Tricks, knocked the puck loose along the boards, allowing Kerr to collect it near the faceoff dot. Kerr cut toward the slot and snapped a wrist shot past Aviators goaltender Aiden McKenna long side to give Danbury a 1–0 lead. The goal marked Kerr’s sixth of the season.
Elmira answered early in the second period. After Matt Judge was whistled for tripping to give the Aviators a power play, Max McGuire evened the score at one just over a minute later. Cael Primanti retrieved the puck behind the Danbury net and found McGuire, a former Hat Trick, who beat Dukaric short side for his sixth goal of the year.
With eight minutes remaining in the period, Dukaric delivered the game’s turning point. Elmira’s Cody Powels broke in alone, but Dukaric sprawled out and made a highlight-reel glove save to keep the game tied.
Moments later, the Hat Tricks capitalized. Elkie won a loose puck near the bottom of the far-side circle and sent it back to Evan Regan, who slid a pass to Mencel on Regan’s left. Mencel fired a wrist shot that deflected off McKenna and crossed the goal line, giving Danbury a 2–1 lead. It was Mencel’s third goal of the season.
Elkie added an insurance goal nine minutes into the third period. Judge started the play by collecting the puck in his own slot and firing a long outlet pass to Ben Dempster at the blue line. Dempster’s initial pass deflected off an Elmira defender, but he quickly recovered and fed Elkie in the slot, where Elkie redirected the puck past McKenna to make it 3–1. The goal was Elkie’s 10th of the season.
McKenna finished with 21 saves on 24 shots in the loss as the Hat Tricks secured game one of the series. Click HERE for the complete box score.