FIVE THINGS: HAT TRICKS KICK OFF HOME-AND-HOME WITH WATERTOWN

by Hat Tricks Staff

WATERTOWN, NY – The Danbury Hat Tricks (16-8-2, 46 pts) travel to take on the league-leading Watertown Wolves (21-3-0, 61 pts) on Wednesday night.

Here are five things to know ahead of the home-and-home series:

1. Familiar Foes

This week, the Hat Tricks and Wolves will face off for the seventh and eighth times this season as they play a home-and-home starting on Wednesday night in Watertown.

Over the first six contests, Watertown has won four of the six. Two of those wins came in overtime.

In total, the Wolves have outscored the Hat Tricks 24-21 in the six contests. With just three losses all season, Watertown has had two-thirds of its losses this season come by way of the Hat Tricks.


2. Goals Galore

Both teams score a lot of goals. Watertown averages 5.5 goals per game to lead the league in offense with a total of 132 goals scored in 24 games.

The Hat Tricks average 4.7 goals over 26 games played, scoring 122 total goals. The Hat Tricks are third in the FPHL in total offense.

In their last game, the Hat Tricks erupted for 10 goals against Binghamton. It was the first time the Hat Tricks reached double-digits this year.


3. League-Leaders

The Hat Tricks and Wolves both have players in the FPHL’s top-five in scoring. Watertown’s Justin MacDonald leads the league with 55 points and 29 assists this season.

Through 21 games, MacDonald averages 2.6 points per game and has accumulated a plus-56 rating.

MacDonald’s teammate Alexander Jmaeff is nearly as effective as the league’s third-leading point scorer. He has 47 points in 23 games while skating to a plus-36 rating.

For the Hat Tricks, Jonny Ruiz leads the charge. At fifth in the league, Ruiz has recorded 41 points over 26 games. Ruiz’s 160 shots on goal lead the league and have led to his 22 goals so far. That figure has Ruiz tied with Jmaeff for third in the league.


4. Hat City Hat Tricks

In their 10-7 win against Binghamton on Saturday night, the Hat Tricks had two players record hat tricks.

Dustin Jesseau scored a single-game team-high four goals in the offensive eruption. Jesseau now has 12 goals and 27 points in 14 games this season. He averages 1.9 points per game and has climbed up to fourth on the team in scoring while playing in just 54% of the team’s games.

Nicola Levesque also scored a hat trick on Saturday, scoring his first three home-goals of the season. Levesque was second on the team in points in its inaugural season with 52 and has recorded 10 points in five games this season.


5. Winning Wolves

The Wolves stand alone atop the FPHL standings and have done so for most of the season. Watertown has an .847 points-percentage to sit .222 points above second-place Columbus (.625). The Hat Tricks are in third with a .590 points-percentage.

Watertown has won 12 consecutive games, with the Wolves last loss coming to the Hat Tricks on Dec. 8th in Danbury.

As a team, Watertown has outscored opponents by 58 this season and has allowed the fewest goals in the league (74).


The puck drops in Watertown at 7:30 on Wednesday night and the game can be seen on the Watertown YouTube channel.