Photo: Patrick Garriepy Photography
Written by: Rory McGouran

The Northeast Generals will have a familiar foe at the Canton Ice House this weekend as the Danbury Hat Tricks come to town.

The weekend set marks the third and fourth times in a row, as well as the fifth and sixth times overall, that the two clubs will face off against each other this season.

Coming off a 5-3 victory in Danbury last Saturday, the Generals now own a 3-1 season series record over the Hat Tricks heading into Friday’s 8:00 p.m. matchup.

Tyler Kelly paved the way on Saturday with his first multi-goal performance of the year while adding an assist. Meanwhile, Alec Hall found the back of the net twice to elevate his season total to 12, taking over the team’s goal-scoring lead as he moved ahead of Logan Poulin, who has missed the last four games with an injury.

Vinny Ipri scored his 3d goal of the season to round out the scoring, and Will Mizenko picked up his 9th win in net. Ipri remains in the league’s top-10 of defensive scoring while Mizenko’s nine wins are tied for second in the NAHL.

As we approach the upcoming weekend, the Generals have to take the good with the bad. They will welcome reinforcements with Thomas Klochkov, Kyle Murray-Smith and Head Coach Bryan Erikson returning from suspension. However, they will be without captain Mikey Bartkowski for an extended period after suffering an upper-body injury in the 5-3 victory. They also missed Jackson Rutherford, who was injured on Friday. It’s undetermined if Logan Poulin or Rutherford will make their return to the lineup.

Throughout the 3-1 series lead in the four games prior. The Gens have outscored the Hat Tricks 17-14. Their power play has gone 23.8% (5/21), with their penalty kill strong at 91.7% (11/12). Both Mizenko and Keagin Wilson have picked up victories in net, with Wilson being credited for the lone loss.

The Generals are currently in the thick of a tightly contested East Division, where only one point separates five teams from 2nd to 6th place.

With Danbury currently on the outside of that pack in 7th, the Generals have a chance to broaden the gap with a successful home weekend. Adding extra importance to the weekend, the following three games will be against the Maine Nordiques, who are deadlocked with the Generals with 26 points.

Friday’s matchup is slated for 8:00 pm, with Saturday booked for 7:00.