10/30 Five Things: Spooky Saturday at Danbury Arena

DANBURY, CT – The Danbury Hat Tricks (1-0-0-0-0) take on the Port Huron Prowlers (0-1-0-0-0) for the second straight night in Danbury Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Opening night resulted in a 7-5 victory for Danbury in Dave MacIsaac’s first game behind the Hat Tricks’ bench.

Five things to know ahead of Saturday’s game:

1. Hat Trick for the Hat Tricks

Dmitry Kuznetsov announced himself to the FPHL in a big way on Friday night. The forward from Tyumen, Russia skated in just his second professional game in North America, but didn’t play like it.

Kuznetsov netted a hat trick in his Danbury debut. He started the night on MacIsaac’s third line. By the end of the game, Kuznetsov was playing with Gordy Bonnel and Jonny Ruiz.

“In the offensive zone, I don’t think we need to change anything,” Kuznetsov said. “Keep shooting and keep scoring.”

2. Spooky Saturday

The Hat Tricks are hosting a Halloween costume contest on Saturday night. There will be two grand prizes for winners of the kids contest and the adult contest.

All kids 15-and-under can sign up HERE for the chance to win an Xbox.

All adults 18-and-up can sign up HERE for the chance to win a $100 gift card to Axe Tricks.

Costumes will be voted on by the fans during the intermission.

3. Here’s Jonny

Jonny Ruiz scored twice on Friday night in the season opener. His first goal came on a shot from center ice that beat Port Huron goaltender Cory Simons.

His second goal didn’t win the game, but may have been the most important play of the night for Danbury.

At 8:53 of the third, the Hat Tricks were short-handed and the game was tied at 4. Ruiz took a bank-pass from Gordy Bonnel up the right wing and rifled a shot inside the far post from the right circle.

The penalty kill was busy for the Hat Tricks on Friday and the short-handed goal by Ruiz was a crucial point in the game.

4. MacIsaac’s First Win 

Head coach Dave MacIsaac earned a victory in his first game behind the bench for the Hat Tricks. MacIsaac trusted his veteran players in the game, riding his top six forwards for the majority of the third period.

MacIsaac was rewarded when Steve Mele scored the game-winning goal with 3:06 remaining in the game. Tom Mele iced the game, scoring an empty-net goal with 29 seconds left.

The head coach praised his team’s effort after the win.

“I thought we had a great compete-level tonight,” MacIsaac said on Friday’s win. “We need to keep that intensity all season.”

5. Strong Start

In the Hat Tricks inaugural season, Danbury opened with four consecutive losses. The first two of those loses came against Port Huron.

The Hat Tricks began their second season with an offensive outburst and a victory over the same Prowlers on Friday.

Danbury has the chance to start 2-0 and head into a 10-day layoff with a perfect record.

Tickets are available for Saturday’s game on danburyhattricks.com/tickets. The game will be streamed live on YouTube.