Following an opening weekend split with Elmira, the Danbury Hat Tricks are back at the Danbury Ice Arena to take on the Northeast Generals on Friday and Saturday, wrapping up a four-game home stand before heading out to Blaine, MN, for the 2026 NAHL Showcase, starting on Wednesday.
Last time out:
Northeast is coming off a one-game weekend against Johnstown, where they beat the Tomahawks 6-2, with Logan Poulin leading the way, potting home a pair of goals en route to earning the East Division’s top star of the week.
Danbury fell 4-1 to Elmira on Saturday. Brent Beswick scored his second goal of the season in the defeat, while Ty Ferguson made 37 saves.
2025-26 season series:
The Generals beat the Hat Tricks five times out of the eight meetings in 25-26, including all four Saturday meetings. Northeast was the only team on Danbury’s schedule last season that they saw more than six times.
Previewing the Generals:
Bryan Erikson brings back his top four scorers from a season ago, led by Kody Moyer, who scored at almost a point-per-game pace with 56.
Logan Poulin returns after a rookie season that saw him score 27 goals, which led all rookies, and helped him earn 2025-26 NAHL Rookie of the Year honors.
Northeast also brings back Alec Hall, Braydon Hudtloft, Tyler Kelly, Owen O’Rear, Robert Savaglio, and Jack Montaldo
In goal, it is expected to be another returner in Keagin Wilson, who went 2-1 vs. Danbury a season ago, earning a goals-against of just over 3.00 in the three games. Wilson will most likely share the crease with former New Hampshire Mountain King Gavin Weeks.
Among the newcomers to keep an eye on, it’s a former Hat Trick that leads the way. Emil Szespi skated in five games for Danbury last season, all of which came in September before he was one of the final cuts to the roster, and would return to West Chester of the NCDC. Szespi earned a pair of assists in Saturday’s win.
Previewing the Hat Tricks:
For Danbury, the key guys will be Gus Rabe, Johnny Niemela, and Brent Beswick, who leads the Hat Tricks with two goals and an assist. Ty Ferguson has made 72 saves through the first 120 minutes of the season, keeping Danbury in both of its first two games.
Danbury will have to stay out of the box against a team with as potent a lineup as Northeast has, while also taking advantage of the Generals’ youth on the back end.
After a hard week of practice, the Hat Tricks will be prepared to battle with their New England Foe.
Both games get going at 7:00 PM at the Danbury Ice Arena. Tickets will be on sale at the door for $10.
If you can’t make it out, you can catch all the action on NAHL TV with Christian Gardecki. Pregame coverage starts at 6:45.