The Danbury Hat Tricks make their annual visit to the NAHL Showcase at the SuperRink in Blaine. The Hat Tricks will face off with the Grand Junction River Hawks from the new Mountain Division on Wednesday, the Midwest Division’s Wisconsin Windigo on Thursday, and the Minot Minotauros from the Central Division on Friday to close out the 2026 Showcase slate for the Orange and Black.
Last Time Out:
The Hat Tricks fell on Saturday, 4-1 to the Northeast Generals. Alex Nurhan potted his first of the year, and Ty Ferguson made 42 saves in the loss. Danbury has dropped three in a row after taking Opening Night against Elmira.
The River Hawks opened their first season in the North American Hockey League on Friday and Saturday as they hosted the Billings Cattle Punchers. Billings took both games by scores of 4-2 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday.
Wisconsin only played one game last weekend, but it was their first win as they shut out Kenai River 2-0 at Home. The prior weekend they lost both games to the Minnesota Wilderness by five each.
Minot split last weekend with rival Aberdeen on the road.
Previewing the Hat Tricks:
Again, a player to watch for Danbury will be Ty Ferguson, but also expect a strong performance by Kristof Krnac, who will get some action in front of the scouts. Expect more offense for Danbury to come out of Eric He and Simon Wang, who both looked solid in their minutes last weekend despite the loss. The Hat Tricks will need to get more offense after only getting 14 shots on Saturday.
They will be playing two teams that have had some similar struggles through the early part of the season, but another important thing is getting everyone some exposure to the scouts at the NAHL Showcase, which is one of the most important things about this experience, along with early-season team bonding.
Previewing the River Hawks
First up for Danbury is a matchup with Grand Junction on Wednesday at 5:15 PM EST. Grand Junction was one of the three franchises that moved from the NCDC to the NAHL, helping start the Mountain Division. Gabe Iervella leads the team with two goals through their first two games. The River Hawks include former Hat Trick Kai Mencel who was traded to Grand Junction for Will Croneberger in the off-season.
Previewing the Windigo
Wisconsin comes in 1-2, and just got their first victory on Saturday. Kale Bergante and Artis Skrebels both have two goals each for a Wisconsin team that came one win away from winning the Midwest Division last season, losing in a five-game series to the Wilderness. Andrew Howard is another first-year coach in the NAHL this season, taking over this off-season. Danbury’s game on Thursday against Wisconsin will also be the Windigo’s second game of the week, as they’ll play Watertown at roughly the same time on Wednesday. Thursday’s game is scheduled to start at 4:00 PM EST.
Previewing the Minotauros
Rounding out the slate on Friday will be the Minot Minotauros, who come in at 1-1. Puck drop is scheduled for 12:45 PM EST and will be the ‘Tauros’ second game of the weekend, as they play Elmira on Thursday. Minot has six different goal scorers in its first two games and is an improved team from last season, when it missed the playoffs.
All three games will be streamed on NATV.
About the Hat Tricks
The Danbury Hat Tricks are the Premier Junior Hockey program in the state of Connecticut, playing in the Tier 2 North American Hockey League. The Hat Tricks organization has sent countless players to Pro, NCAA D1, D3, and major junior hockey. Notable alumni include 2024-25 Hat Trick and Redding Native Niko Tournas (Moncton, QMJHL), 2021-22 Hat Trick Patriks Berzins (St. Cloud State, NCHC, D1), 2025-26 Hat Trick Patrik Ula (Sudbury, OHL), and many more.