Series Preview: Back To Danbury

Two teams that have seen a lot of each other recently will meet twice more as the Port Huron Prowlers make their final regular-season trip to Danbury this season. The Hat Tricks have already clinched the seven-game season series victory.

Last weekend, the teams matched up once in Danbury on Saturday night. The Prowlers dominated the first 40 minutes of play to take a 4-1 lead heading into the third. That lead was erased within 5:22 seconds of game time in the final frame of regulation. Trailing 5-4 in the final two minutes, Dylan Hullaby tied things up for the Hat Tricks to send the game to overtime and, eventually, a shootout. Gleb Bandurkin scored the winner in the seventh round of the skills competition, which Danbury won 3-2.

The night before that game, the Prowlers visited HC Venom in their new home in Poughkeepsie, New York. Port Huron held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the second period but the Venom had a 3-2 advantage heading into the third. Rahul Sharma shut things down the rest of the way to secure his first pro win. The Prowlers are 20-16-5 with 61 points and in fourth in the Empire Division.

The Hat Tricks sandwiched their home game against Port Huron with a pair of contests in Watertown. On Friday, Bandurkin opened the game with a natural hat trick between the first and second periods. Danbury carried that momentum and ended up with a 4-2 win. After taking down the Prowlers on Saturday night, the Hat Tricks returned to Watertown on Sunday. The Wolves held a 3-1 lead going into the third but Connor Woolley and Jonny Ruiz scored to send the game to a shootout. Woolley scored the only goal in the skills competition and Danbury earned seven of a possible nine points to strengthen its hold on second place in the Empire. The Hat Tricks are 23-11-6 with 71 points.

SEASON SERIES (HAT TRICKS LEAD 4-1)

Nov. 29 @ Port Huron: Hat Tricks 5, Prowlers 4

Nov. 30 @ Port Huron: Hat Tricks 5, Prowlers 2

Feb. 14 @ Port Huron: Hat Tricks 7, Prowlers 2

Feb. 15 @ Port Huron: Prowlers 4, Hat Tricks 2

Feb. 22 @ Danbury: Hat Tricks 6, Prowlers 5 (SO)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Prowlers - Lukas Lacny (F) - Lacny has been strong offensively the past couple of weeks with a three-game point streak and five points in that span.

Hat Tricks - Aleksandr Vasilyev (F) - The Russian veteran has dished out multiple assists in five of his last seven games, including twice against Port Huron. 

STAT CENTRAL

Alex Johnson (PHP) is 10th in the FPHL with 32 assists…Connor McCollum (DHT) has won 6 of his last 7 starts while Frankie McClendon has won his last 4…The Prowlers have held a lead in 13 of their 21 total losses this season…The Hat Tricks are 3-11-1 this season when trailing after the second period with two of those wins coming last weekend

SERIES SCHEDULE

Feb. 28, 7:30 P.M. at Danbury Arena (Danbury, CT)

Mar. 1, 7:00 P.M. at Danbury Arena (Danbury, CT)

Both games will be available live on the PHP Network YouTube channel.