Game Recap: Hat Tricks Capitalize Late in the Third to Get Over the Hump in Watertown

WATERTOWN, NY — The Danbury Hat Tricks held off a late third period push from the Wolves in Watertown to seal a 2-1 win on Friday night.

Coming into the night, playing in Watertown had not been too kind to the Danbury Hat Tricks this season. In their two trips to the Municipal Arena, the Hat Tricks – despite scoring ten goals in both games – found themselves on the losing end of two 6-5 finals. Friday night was different in every aspect.

In each of the first two contests in Watertown, the teams had combined for ten first period tallies. Friday night saw just one goal cross the line in the opening frame. And to no one’s surprise that score came off the stick of alternate captain Tate Leeson who found himself on a breakaway and went five-hole on Hat Tricks goalie Connor McCollum at 2:13 of the first. Leeson came into the night second in the league in goals and third in points.

The Hat Tricks evened the score in the second period when the newcomer, Narek Aleksanyan, roofed a mid-slot snapshot under the crossbar to tie it up at one. The 6’1” forward, who played one game with Binghamton earlier this season, made an immediate impact in his Hat Tricks debut.

Through two periods, the shots were 27-26 Watertown.

The score stayed locked at one midway through the third period until Hat Tricks leading goal scorer Nick DiNicola cashed in on a feed from defenseman Samuel Tetreault at 14:08.

The Hat Tricks survived a late third period attack from the Wolves thanks to McCollum stopping all 15 third period shots. Danbury improves to .500, 5-5, through the first ten games of the season. 

The Hat Tricks are back in action Saturday night in Elmira at 6:07 p.m. The Hat Tricks knocked off the River Sharks 6-5 last Saturday in Elmira.

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.