Game Preview: Hat Tricks vs Blue Ridge Bobcats: March 7th
FPHL Danbury Hat Tricks

Game Preview: Hat Tricks vs Blue Ridge Bobcats: March 7th

Published on March 7, 2026 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL)
Danbury Hat Tricks News Release


LAST TIME OUT

Last night, the Danbury Hat Tricks defeated the Blue Ridge Bobcats 2-1 on home ice to climb within 8 points of a playoff spot with eleven games remaining in the season.

In the first period, Eli Rivers scored a powerplay goal at 5:18 to give the Hat Tricks an early 1-0 lead. Blue Ridge outshot Danbury 19-10 in the first frame, with Kyle Penton making some brilliant saves to keep the Hat Tricks up by one goal heading into the 1st intermission.

At 12:39 in the second period, Anton Rubtsov forced an offensive-zone turnover and beat Bobcats goaltender Anthony Shrum on a wrap-around to double Danbury's lead.

The Hat Tricks looked in control deep into the third period. But with three minutes left, Blue Ridge drew a tripping penalty on Josh Newberg and converted off the powerplay as Nicholas Stuckless made it 2-1 with 2:45 remaining.

Despite pulling their goalie and hitting the post late, the Bobcats fell short. With the win, Danbury now trails Blue Ridge by 8 points with a chance to narrow it to 5 points with a Saturday night win.

KYLE PENTON REMAINS SPECTACULAR DOWN THE STRETCH

Alongside offensive outputs from Rivers and Rubtsov, Kyle Penton was the true hero Friday night. The rookie netminder saved 41 of 42 shots faced, standing on his head as the Hat Tricks were outshot by double digits. On the Bobcats first two powerplays, and especially in the final chaotic minutes with the extra skater on for the visitors, Penton was fantastic. He commanded the blue paint and made consecutive saves in a row numerous times in the final minutes. Even with Sebastian Resar's return to the team, it would be hard to find a hotter goaltender than Kyle Penton in the last month.

NEW FACES CONTINUE TO CONTRIBUTE

The Hat Tricks front office has made a slew of late-season moves in recent weeks. Last night, some of those new faces made significant impacts for their new team.

Konstantin Chernyuk, who was acquired on February 24th, has looked as advertised and has revitalized the team's powerplay on the blue line. Chance Adrian slotted in as the 2nd line center and battled admirably all night. Milan Breczko provided similar energy as the 10th skater, while rookie Mitchell Berens manned the 3rd defensive pair in his debut with Kadyn Fennell.

Arguably the most impressive performance came from Dmitry Kuznetsov, the team's newest addition. Acquired Friday morning from Watertown, Kuznetsov made it down to the Hat City in time to dress and start for the Hat Tricks. Playing on the first line with Rubtsov and Fronduto, the Russian forward clicked immediately and notched an assist on the second goal.

ABOUT THE BOBCATS

With last night's loss, the Bobcats (19-20-3-3) sit in 4th place, still on 66 points. Their 13-point lead over Danbury just a few weeks ago is now 8, losing their fourth straight game. Friday's loss also put them behind in the season series with Danbury, now 2-3 in their five games so far.

It was a frustrating game for the Bobcats, outshooting their opponents by 12 shots and coming desperately close numerous times on the powerplay. Despite their best efforts, Kyle Penton did just enough to deny Blue Ridge of a huge road win. Instead, they'll hope to split the weekend and prevent Danbury from narrowing the gap to 5 points.

HAT TRICKS HEADLINES

THE POWERPLAY DELIVERS IN A MASSIVE SPOT

The Hat Tricks' powerplay has struggled a lot this season, ranking 13th out of 14 FPHL teams with a 13.1% conversion rate on the man advantage. However, the powerplay came up big early in the 1st as Eli Rivers scored only 26 seconds into their first chance on the 5-on-4.

The team has experimented quite a bit, employing a five-forward lineup for a long stretch. But with the addition of a puck-handling defenseman in Konstantin Chernyuk, the group looked both comfortable and potent against the Bobcats' penalty kill. The Danbury coaching staff will hope for a similar output tonight in game two of this weekend series

The Danbury Hat Tricks continue their sixth season in the Federal Prospects Hockey League on Saturday, March 7 (7:30 p.m.) at the Danbury Ice Arena, to take on the Blue Ridge Bobcats. Single-game tickets and partial season ticket packages are on sale and can be purchased in person at the Hat Tricks office located inside the Danbury Ice Arena at 1 Independence Way in Danbury, by calling (973-713-7547) or emailing (herm@danburyhattricks.com) the office, or online through Tixr. For the latest Hat Tricks news, visit www.danburyhattricks.com, follow the team on Facebook (www.facebook.com/danburyhattricks), Instagram (@danburyhattricks), X (@DanburyHatTrick), TikTok (@danburyhattricks), and YouTube (@DanburyHatTricks), and subscribe to the Hat Tricks' newsletter.

Check out the Danbury Hat Tricks Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from March 7, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central