Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks

Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks
CityDanbury, Connecticut
LeagueNorth American Hockey League
North American 3 Hockey League
DivisionEast
Founded2019 (organization)
2010 (NAHL franchise)
2014 (NA3HL franchise)
Home arenaDanbury Ice Arena
Owner(s)DP 110, LLC
General managerMatt Voity (GM)
Billy McCreary (President of Hockey Operations)
Head coachMatt Voity (NAHL)
Tyler Noseworthy (NA3HL)
WebsiteNAHL's Jr. Hat Tricks
NA3HL's Jr. Hat Tricks
Franchise history
Tier II franchise
2010–2012Dawson Creek Rage
2015–2020Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
2020–presentDanbury Jr. Hat Tricks
Tier III franchise
2014–2017Lockport Express
2017–2019Niagara Falls PowerHawks
2019–2020Danbury Colonials
2020–presentDanbury Jr. Hat Tricks

The Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks are a USA Hockey-sanctioned junior ice hockey organization based in Danbury, Connecticut. The organization has junior teams in the Tier II North American Hockey League and the Tier III North American 3 Hockey League, both of which play home games at the Danbury Ice Arena.

The teams are named after and operated by the ownership of the Danbury Hat Tricks, a minor professional team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League that was founded in 2019.

History

Since its renovation in 2004, the Danbury Ice Arena had hosted several minor league professional hockey teams with varying levels of success. The last had been the Danbury Titans of the Federal Hockey League (FHL), which folded in 2017 due to the cost of workers' compensation insurance being more than the team was making.[1] In 2019, the arena was sold to Diamond Properties (DP 110, LLC),[2] who then bought two franchises to play in their arena for the 2019–20 season: the Danbury Colonials of the Tier III junior North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) and another FHL (since rebranded as Federal Prospects Hockey League) team in the Danbury Hat Tricks.[3]

The Colonials' franchise was purchased from the Niagara Falls PowerHawks organization[4] and Kevin Cunningham was named as the first head coach of the Colonials.[5] Billy McCreary, son of former NHL player Bill McCreary Jr., was named the FPHL team's head coach and general manager.[6] Former NHL player Colton Orr was named as co-owner and managing partner of both teams.[7] The Colonials finished in second the Northeast Division in their inaugural season, but the playoffs were curtailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.[8]

On May 11, 2020, the organization announced they had also bought a franchise in the Tier II junior North American Hockey League (NAHL) from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights and would be named the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks after the professional team. Billy McCreary, who had won Coach of the Year in the FPHL in his first season, stepped down from his coaching position with the professional team and became head coach of the NAHL team.[9] Subsequently, the Colonials would also be rebranded before the 2020–21 season to align with the rest of the organization.[10] Due to the limited capacity during the pandemic and interstate travel restrictions, the NA3HL team was one of several East Division teams to temporarily relocate to Massachusetts midseason, with the team playing out of Springfield, Massachusetts, as the Springfield Jr. Hat Tricks, before returning to Danbury in March 2021.[11][12]

Following the 2020–21 season, Doug Friedman was hired as the head coach of the Tier III Hat Tricks,[13] but left before coaching a game to join his alma mater, Boston University, as their director of hockey operations. The Jr. Hat Tricks then hired Tyler Noseworthy as head coach of the NA3HL team.[14]

Following the 2021-22 season, McCreary would return to be the Head Coach of the Danbury Hat Tricks while becoming President of Hockey Operations overseeing all three teams in the organization. [15] Longtime assistant coach Matt Voity became the Head Coach and General Manager of the NAHL team,[16] while Noseworthy remained with the NA3HL team, both would stay on as assistant coaches for the FPHL team.

Season-by-season records

NAHL team

Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2020–21[17] 54 20 27 6 1 47 148 187 6th of 6, East Div.
18th of 23, NAHL		 Did not qualify
2021–22 60 12 42 5 1 30 153 258 7th of 7, East Div.
29th of 29, NAHL		 Did not qualify
2022–23 60 6 47 5 2 19 102 246 7th of 7, East Div.
29th of 29, NAHL		 Did not qualify
2023-24 60 16 36 6 2 40 135 233 9th of 9th Eastern Division, 30th of 32 NAHL Did Not Qualify

NA3HL team

Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs
2019–20[18] 47 24 22 1 0 49 184 171 2nd of 4, Northeast Div.
18th of 34, NA3HL		 Playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21[19] 36 23 13 0 0 46 144 123 2nd of 5, East Div.
12th of 31, NA3HL		 Lost Div. Semifinals, 0–2 vs. New Jersey Titans
2021–22 47 27 16 1 3 58 169 144 3rd of 6, East Div.
14th of 34, NA3HL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 2–0 vs. Long Beach Sharks
Lost Div. Finals, 1–2 vs. Northeast Generals
2022–23 47 27 17 3 0 57 150 138 2nd of 6, East Div.
13th of 34, NA3HL		 Won Div. Semifinals, 2–1 vs. Norwich Sea Captains
Lost Div. Finals, 0–2 vs. Northeast Generals
2023–24 47 8 37 2 0 18 93 201 6th of 6, East Div.
30th of 34, NA3H		 Did Not Qualify

References

  1. ^ "Bruce Bennett reseases statement: Danbury Titans cease operations". Hamlet Hub. August 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "Danbury Ice Arena under new ownership as of midnight; Reportedly eyeing possible FHL return". Bus League Hockey. March 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "Danbury Arena the New Home of the Connecticut Whale". OurSports Central. July 8, 2019.
  4. ^ "NA3HL announces new markets for the 2019-20 season". NA3HL. April 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Danbury names Kevin Cunningham as Head Coach". NA3HL. May 29, 2019.
  6. ^ "FHL Returns to Danbury". Federal Prospects Hockey League. May 7, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  7. ^ "Colton Orr joins Danbury Colonials Ownership". North American 3 Hockey League. May 14, 2019.
  8. ^ "3View: Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks". NA3HL. September 18, 2020.
  9. ^ "NAHL announces relocation of WBS Knights to Danbury, Connecticut". NAHL. May 11, 2020.
  10. ^ "Danbury Colonials to become the Jr. Hat Tricks". NA3HL. August 24, 2020.
  11. ^ @DanburyNA3HL (February 2, 2021). "Not a bad Springfield debut for @MattiTauriainen! @nate_hads with some very well earned recognition as well!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ @DanburyNA3HL (February 2, 2021). "Congratulations to @MattiTauriainen and @nate_hads on their well earned recognition from the @NA3HL!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ "Danbury names Doug Friedman as new Head Coach". NA3HL. June 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "Danbury names Noseworthy as new Head Coach". NA3HL. July 21, 2021.
  15. ^ "News: DANBURY HAT TRICKS NAME BILLY McCREARY HEAD COACH - Danbury Hat Tricks". www.danburyhattricks.com. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  16. ^ "Danbury announces coaching change". North American Hockey League (NAHL). Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  17. ^ "NAHL 2020–21 Regular Season Standings". NAHL. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  18. ^ "NA3HL 2019–20 Regular Season Standings". NAHL. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  19. ^ "NA3HL 2020–21 Regular Season Standings". NAHL. Retrieved May 22, 2021.