After falling behind by two goals midway through the second period, the Hat Tricks responded in emphatic fashion, rallying for a 3–2 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Rebels to split the weekend series.
The win not only secured Danbury’s fourth victory in six meetings against the Rebels this season — with all six contests decided by one goal — but also pushed the Hat Tricks to 50 points on the year, the most in franchise history.
Despite dominating play early and outshooting Philadelphia 14–2 in the first period, the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes. The Rebels struck first at 2:41 of the second when Jordan Brothers buried a rebound after a point shot by Ty Simonet slipped through the pads of goaltender Jon Dukaric.
Three minutes later, Philadelphia doubled its lead in similar fashion. Jake Schultz’s shot handcuffed Dukaric, and Justin Vlassis tapped home the loose puck to make it 2–0.
The momentum shifted midway through the frame when Brothers was whistled for high-sticking at 10:20. Just 40 seconds into the power play, Brady Walters cut the deficit in half. After Matt Shpungin worked the puck along the near-side half wall and fed Patrik Ula at the point, Ula drove toward the slot and sent a backdoor pass to Walters, who one-timed it past Ija Nikitins for his third goal as a Hat Trick.
The equalizer came just over a minute later. Kai Mencel kept the puck in at the blue line and slipped a backhanded feed to Matt Dabrowski at the top of the circle. Dabrowski snapped a wrist shot past Nikitins for his seventh of the season, tying the game at two.
Danbury’s breakthrough arrived with 8:51 remaining in regulation. Peter Freel protected the puck along the far-side boards before threading a centering pass through the slot to Ludovik Gauvin. The defenseman rifled a shot glove side to give the Hat Tricks their first lead of the weekend — and ultimately the game-winning goal. It was Gauvin’s seventh tally of the season, tops among Danbury blueliners.
Dukaric finished with 24 saves on 26 shots to earn the win, while Nikitins turned aside 30 of 33. Click HERE for the complete box score.
The Hat Tricks now turn their attention to a two-game road set against the Maine Nordiques next weekend in Auburn, Maine.