Game Recap: Hat Tricks Neutralized by First Place Black Bears Saturday Night in Danbury

DANBURY — The Hat Tricks struggled to find their offensive groove in a 4-2 loss to Binghamton Saturday night. The Black Bears netted three goals in 2:14 span during the second period to grow a 3-0 lead.

Both teams felt each other out in the first 20 minutes of the game with the Black Bears outshooting the Hat Tricks 10-4. Both goalies, Conor McCollum for the Hat Tricks and Sam LiVecchi for Binghamton, stood tall against the limited action they faced to keep it scoreless.

It wasn’t until the second period when things started to amp up. The chaos began when Binghamton buried three unanswered goals in a 2:14 stretch to pull ahead. First, forward Nikita Ivashkin opened the scoring at 12:46, assisted by forward Brenden Stanko and defenseman Mathieu Boislar. Just over a minute later, Binghamton’s leading point-getter Brenden Stanko extended the lead to 2-0 at 14:12. Stanko has goals in three consecutive goals and eleven points during that stretch. Binghamton’s second-leading scorer Connor Smith further widened the gap to three at 15:00 on a breakaway.

Following the three-goal onslaught from the Black Bears, the discipline from both sides went out the window. Defenseman Daniel Amesbury (aggressor), forward Mac Lewis (third man in), and Binghamton head coach Brant Sherwood (abuse of officials) were all ejected from the game.

In the final frame, Danbury was granted two five-on-three power plays with a chance to mount a comeback. At 11:40 the Hat Tricks got on the board on the man advantage. Off the faceoff forward Sam Dabrowksi snapped his fourth goal in as many games and his second on the power play under the bar to get the Hat Tricks within two. Forward Nick DiNicola found the back of the net with 1.2 seconds left in game, but it was too little too late.

The Hat Tricks fall to 3-5-0 and 3-2-0 on home ice while the Black Bears improve to 5-0-2 with a league-leading 17 points. Binghamton leads the season series over Danbury 2-1.

The Hat Tricks travel to Elmira next Saturday to face the River Sharks for the first time this season.

The Hat Tricks' cup defense is underway and we want you to be a part of it! Season and single-game tickets are available for purchase. Full and partial season packages can save fans up to 30% and include benefits such as FREE parking and season passes to the Danbury NAHL/NA3HL Hat Tricks games. Call Herm Sorcher at (973) 713-7547 to secure yours today or press here to learn more. To buy single-game tickets press here.

To stay up to date on all things Danbury Hat Tricks hockey, go to www.danburyhattricks.com and follow the team on social media.