Weekend Preview Versus Maryland
March 6, 2025 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks News Release
Danbury is looking to get hot at the right time, which based on our current skid should be this weekend against the Black Bears. The Hat Tricks have not played against Maryland since November 23, which ended in a 4-1 victory for the Black Bears. Overall, the Hat Tricks are 0-3-1-0 against the Black Bears through their four meetings thus far.
Looking at the Black Bears squad, a few things have changed since our pre-Thanksgiving meeting. The biggest change was a trade between the Corpus Christi IceRays and Maryland, which saw the IceRays acquire goaltender Benji Motew, in exchange for a player development fee and one tender. Benji appeared in all four matchups versus Danbury, which included an OT win and a 15-save shutout in our first weekend series against each other in the 2024-25 season. Since then goaltender Marko Bilic has been holding down the crease for the Black Bears, putting up a .919 save percentage and three shutouts in 10 games played. Another trade that went down saw the Black Bears acquiring forward Sebastian Speck for Luke Rubin back in January. Speck is the leading scorer for Maryland, with 47 points in 45 games played in the 2024-25 season.
The Hat Tricks have tied their longest skid of the season with a shutout loss to Rochester last Saturday, which has pushed them down to 10th place in the east division. Danbury is now seven points out of a playoff spot, which would require a massive winning streak and a few other dominos falling to grab their first ever postseason spot. Looking at the Danbury squad, Niko Tournas is looking to heat up following a terrific power play goal on Friday night against Jr. Americans netminder Danick Leroux. Ryan Crowshaw has also been proving to be solid in net, with an .899 save percentage through 10 games played this season.
You can catch the action this weekend on NATV at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 7 & at 6:30 on Saturday, March 8. Follow us on social media for game day updates, interviews, exclusive content, and more!
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North American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2025
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- Weekend Preview Versus Maryland - Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks
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