During the Hat Tricks’ break in game action from December 16th until January 12th, we will recap the team’s early part of the season month by month. First up: October.
DANBURY, CT – The Danbury Hat Tricks started October with a weekend series against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on October 6th and 7th. Game 1 on Friday proved to be a tough battle for both teams with both teams scoring two goals back to back. By the start of the third period the game was tied at 2-2. The Hat Tricks started the period off strong with goals from Griffin Zaske and Emerson Molas within seven minutes of play. The Mountain Kings were unable to pull ahead leaving the Hat Tricks with a 4-3 win. Game 2 proved to be just as competitive with neither team scoring at all in the first period. Logan Nickerson got the action started at the end of the second period with a goal for the Hat Tricks. Matthew Hale of the Mountain Kings responded early in the third period, tying the game up 1-1. Both teams battled until the end of regulation, forcing the game into overtime. Josh Doolan of the Mountain Kings called game early into overtime leaving the Hat Tricks with a 2-1 loss.
The Hat Tricks traveled to Massachusetts the following weekend to take on the Northeast Generals in another two-game series. Game 1 of the series proved to be defense-heavy, with the first period seeing three goals and the second and third seeing none. The Generals came out strong in the first period scoring the first two goals late in the period. Brock Behrend answered the call, putting the hat tricks on the board late in the first period. Miles Roberts proved to be the standout of the game making 33 saves for the Hat Tricks. The final score of the game was 2-1 with the Northeast Generals coming out on top. Unlike game 1, game 2 started off slow with no teams scoring at all in the first period. Tensions ran high in the second period as both teams played with extreme physicality. The first goal of the game was scored late in the second period and the Generals led by 2 early in the third. The first Hat Tricks goal was scored by Wyatt Stefan in the second period, but it was answered by Andrew DellaDonna of the Generals. The Hat Tricks ended the series with a 3-1 loss.
The Hat Tricks finished October playing two series at home. The first of the series was against the Maine Nordiques, who proved to be an offensive power house. In game 1, the Nordiques took 40 shots compared to the Hat Tricks’ 18. Hayden Stocks of the Hat Tricks started the game strong with a goal late in the first period. The Nordiques answered back strong with five unanswered goals in the following two periods. The standout player for the Hat Tricks was goaltender Miles Roberts who made 31 saves on 36 shots. The Hat Tricks fell short, ending game one with a 5-1 loss. The Hat Tricks entered game two with a chip on their shoulders. The Hat Tricks scored two unanswered goals in the first period from Hayden Stocks and Marius Angelin to give them a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. The Nordiques answered back in the second and third period scoring a total of four unanswered goals. Both teams battled until the end with the Hat Tricks’ standout player being CJ Kier who made 38 saves on 42 shots. Although they battled hard, the Hat Tricks ended the series with a 4-2 loss.
The final weekend series of the month for the Hat Tricks also took place on home ice. The Hat Tricks were facing the Maryland Black Bears for the second time this season. Game 1 started out strong for the Black Bears with two goals early in the first period. The second period was a more challenging battle with both teams scoring a goal apiece. Alexios Georgaklis scored late in the second period for the Hat Tricks, putting them on the board. The Black Bears did not let this goal go unanswered and scored once again in the third period. The standout player for the Hat Tricks was Miles Roberts once again, making 42 saves on 46 goals. The Hat Tricks entered game two coming off the 4-1 loss from game 1 the night before. Game 2 was a high scoring game. The first period only saw a single goal from the Black Bears, but the second period saw more scoring action. The Black Bears scored three goals in the second period, but Liam Vermecky of the Hat Tricks answered the call by scoring early in the second period. The third period saw five total goals, two for the Hat Tricks (scored by Noah Ziskie
and Emerson Molas) and three for the Black Bears. The Black Bears showed up with a strong offense that the Hat Tricks could not beat leaving them with a 7-3 loss on their last game of the month.