JAN. 13 FIVE THINGS: HAT TRICKS RETURN HOME TO HOST FIRST-PLACE WOLVES
DANBURY, CT – The Danbury Hat Tricks (15-6-2, 43 pts) return home after a five-game trip to host the Watertown Wolves (19-3-0, 55 pts) on Thursday night.
Here are five things to know ahead of Thursday’s matchup:
1. Home Sweet Home
The Hat Tricks have been impressive at home this season. Danbury has won 10 of 11 games at Danbury Arena.
Their lone home-loss came at the hands of the Wolves back in November.
“We have great fans and they have provided us a big boost at home this year,” said head coach Dave MacIsaac.
Danbury has had no issue scoring at home. The Hat Tricks have outscored opponents by 23 inside Danbury Arena so far this season.
2. Consistent Scoring
Danbury has two of the league’s top six scorers. Jonny Ruiz and Dmitry Kuznetsov are both tied for sixth in the league with 35 points.
Ruiz has recorded a point in 22 of 23 games this season. Kuznetsov has notched 21 points over his last 11 games.
Forward Gordy Bonnel started the season with six points in seven games. Since then, Bonnel has registered 22 points over 13 games.
3. League-Leaders
Watertown has two of the league’s top-three scorers in its offense. Justin MacDonald has accumulated 48 points in 19 games this season to lead the FPHL.
Alexander Jmaeff joins MacDonald as one of three players in the FPHL to record two-plus points-per-game.
Jmaeff’s 43 points are third in the league. His 23 assists are second to MacDonald (25).
4. Milestone Watch
Hat Tricks forward Dustin Jesseau sits at 99 career FPHL points. He is fifth on the team this season with 21 points, but has hit that mark in just 12 games.
His 1.8 points-per-game lead the Hat Tricks.
Jesseau started his FPHL career in 2015-16 with the Danbury Titans and Brewster Bulldogs. He has also spent time with Watertown and Port Huron in his career.
5. Top Dogs
Watertown has spent the bulk of the season in first-place in the FPHL. The Wolves have the most goals scored in the league with 121 and the second-fewest goals allowed with 68.
Their points-percentage of .833 is almost 20 points clear of second-place Columbus. The Hat Tricks have a .623 points-percentage, putting them in third place in the league.
Danbury’s 43 points, however, are the second-most in the league.
Watertown has won 10-straight games entering Thursday’s contest.
Thursday’s game can be seen on the Hat Tricks YouTube channel and tickets are available HERE.