BY: Casey Bryant, Danbury Hat Tricks
DANBURY, CT – In his first game since signing with the team earlier in the week, Nick DiNicola made a huge splash with three goals to lead the Danbury Hat Tricks to a 6-4 victory over the Delaware Thunder before 1,040 at the Danbury Ice Arena on Friday night.
The win was the Hat Tricks’ sixth win in a row. DiNicola, a Wolcott, CT native, was named the game’s first star as he registered the first hat trick in team history.
“It wasn’t pretty, but good teams find a way to win,” Hat Tricks head coach Billy McCreary commented after the game. “We kinda eased [DiNicola] into the lineup tonight but he gave us a lot of energy. He possesses the puck, he makes plays, and he got better as the game went along.”
The Hat Tricks built a 2-0 lead in the early goings of the first period.
Cory Anderson opened the scoring just 2:22 taking a feed from Carter Shinkaruk and beating Thunder netminder, Morgan Hudson. Just over six minutes later, Phil Bronner found the back of the net as well with assists coming from Shinkaruk and Thomas Freeman.
Just over a minute later, Eli Kinsman cut the lead in half for the Thunder when he buried a wrist shot past the blocker of Hat Tricks goaltender, Tom McGuckin.
Just 21 seconds later the Hat Tricks responded.
Matyas Kasek snuck a turnaround shot past Hudson to restore a two-goal lead for the home team.
Delaware refused to quit and cut into the deficit again with 5:24 remaining in the period. Anton Kalinin took a feed from Evgenii Demin and fired a slapshot that deflected off a Danbury stick and changed direction on McGurkin and found the back of the net.
Anderson took an interference penalty just 1:31 into the second period, giving Delaware a power play that they would capitalize on to even the score.
With power play time winding down, Taylor Cutting took a Ryan Marker pass and sent a shot that got past McGurkin at 3:22 and the score was tied at 3.
But DiNicola, starting in his first game with the Hat Tricks went to work and would restore the Danbury lead. DiNicola took a saucer pass from Gordy Bonnel and took off on a breakaway and buried his first goal as a Hat Trick at 11:26.
With both sides trading high-danger chances, Marker would get on the score sheet for a second time with his 14th goal of the season, 6:14 into the third period.
After spending two minutes in the penalty box with Cutting on matching roughing calls, DiNicola went to work.
At 14:20, Charlie Pens, Jr went to the box for the Thunder on an Elbowing call. He was joined in the box 1:38 later when Kieran Devine joined him on a Tripping call, giving the Hat Tricks 22 seconds of 5-on-3 power-play time.
Jonny Ruiz sent a backdoor pass to DiNicola who banged home his second of the game on the power play at 16:09 to reestablish a Hat Tricks lead at 5-4.
With 2:02 left in regulation, DiNicola again found himself the recipient of a cross-crease pass from Ruiz, banged the puck into the net and mailed down the win.
McGuckin stopped 29 shots in the win. Shinkaruk registered three assists, with two of them being the primary helper earning him the game’s Second Star. Marker, with a goal and an assist, was named Third Star for the Thunder.
Danbury rides their six-game winning streak into the rematch tomorrow night at Danbury Arena against the Thunder. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
