11/19 FIVE THINGS: HAT TRICKS VISIT WOLVES

WATERTOWN, NY – The Hat Tricks (3-1-0-1-0, 11 pts) travel to Watertown, New York on Friday night to kick of a home-and-home with the Watertown Wolves (4-2-0-0-0, 12 pts).

Here’s five things to know ahead of this weekend’s home-and-home with Watertown:

1. Captain’s Electric Start

Jonny Ruiz is off to an incredibly hot start this season. Through five games, the Captain leads the team with six goals and eight points.

Of his six goals, three have come on the power play. Danbury’s power play is converting at a 25 percent rate over the first five games of the season, leading the FPHL.

Ruiz has accounted for half of Danbury’s power-play goals this season. He scored seven power-play goals over the entire 2019-20 season.

2. Quick Impact

Tobias Odjick has only played in three professional games, but has made an impact to start his career.

Odjick is registering two points-per-game in his first three games. He had an assist in his first game against Watertown on Nov. 10. In two games at Port Huron last weekend, Odjick scored twice and recorded five points.

Odjick, the son of former NHLer Gino Odjick, didn’t get a ton of ice-time in his debut, but catapulted himself up to the Hat Tricks top line on the road trip at Port Huron.

3. Piling Points

Danbury has recorded multiple points in every game besides one this season. The Hat Tricks kicked off the campaign with four consecutive wins, three of which came in regulation.

The Hat Tricks’ 11 points are one behind Watertown and Binghamton, however, Danbury’s .733 points percentage is the best in the FPHL.

The Hat Tricks are one of three teams to play fewer than six games so far this season, but they have made their five games count.

Their first loss of the season came last time out against Port Huron. Friday night will be Danbury’s first opportunity to bounce back after defeat this season.

4. Getting Out of the Box

The first five games have been very successful for the Hat Tricks, but head coach Dave MacIsaac isn’t fully satisfied with his team’s play so far.

“Discipline is definitely a factor in our third periods, we lost that game the other night just on lack of discipline,” MacIsaac said.

Danbury has been short-handed 27 times in five games. The Hat Tricks have seen themselves down two men on multiple occasions and have allowed seven goals to opposing power plays.

“The hope is you learn from these games and you don’t make the same mistakes moving forward,” MacIsaac added.

5. Scouting the Wolves 

Watertown enters the weekend tied with Binghamton for the most points in the league with 12.

Watertown is led by player/coach and captain Justin MacDonald’s 14 points. MacDonald leads the FPHL with that figure, recording six goals and eight assists in six games so far.

Forward Alexander Jmaeff has also started the season strong, scoring six goals and 10 points in the early season.

The Wolves are averaging close to five goals per game this season and have scored five or more goals in four of their six contests.

Watertown allows just under four goals per game to opposing offenses. Watertown has yet to keep an opponent under three goals and has given up four or more goals in four of their six games.

Friday night’s game begins at 7:30 and can be found on the Watertown YouTube page.