Danbury Hat Tricks (North American Hockey League) @ Danbury Arena (Danbury, CT)

26 IN 26 STOP 5

*This trip occurred on February 14, 2026.

Danbury, CT is an interesting place. Aside from being the birthplace of two of my cousins, it’s also been the home of a whole host of low level hockey teams, many of which have called the same place home: the Danbury Arena.

I won't get too in depth about any of the teams that have played here in the past, but among them were a team called the Trashers, one of the founding members of the Federal Prospects Hockey League (who have since folded), a women's team in a predecessor of the PWHL, and, of course, the current team: the Danbury Hat Tricks (who, it should be noted, are not connected to the former team in Danbury). Normally, I don't talk about building ownership in these posts, but I have to here, because part of why the Hat Tricks exist today: a 2019 sale of the building.

The Hat Tricks were were one of three teams established in 2019 as part of the building sale, and are the third team in FPHL history to call Danbury their home (there was a second team after the original team left, but they folded as well). In their short time as a club (though not by FPHL standards¹), they've been at least somewhat successful - after all, they have a league title to their name (won in 2023). Unfortunately, the biggest problem with planning a trip here: no afternoon games. They only host games on Friday and Saturday nights², and though it’s not SUPER far (probably an hour and a half at most), I’d rather not be getting home at 11 PM (and also the roads are kinda dark at night - don’t even THINK about the Saw Mill).

HOWEVER...

The FPHL isn't the only game in town.

As mentioned earlier, the Hat Tricks were one of three teams brought into the Danbury Ice Arena in 2019. One was the aforementioned women's team (who basically folded when their league did prior to the founding of the PWHL), and the other was a NA3HL team that lasted until 2024 when they kinda sorta disappeared without a trace. There is, however, one more team I haven't discussed yet: in 2020, the Hat Tricks purchased a NAHL team that had been around since 2010 and moved them from Wilkes-Barre, PA to Danbury. This team - commonly known as the Jr. Hat Tricks to distinguish them from the FPHL team - has a VERY DIFFERENT schedule from their parent club, but most important is the fact that they had a weekend game that started at noon - i.e THIS game. There's not that much to say about the team (Wikipedia indicates that last season was the first time the team finished above last place in their division, but they were still only 8th of 10), so let's move on.

As mentioned earlier, the Danbury (Ice) Arena opened in 1999 and was apparently the beneficiary of a renovation five years later. It's very much a community oriented building - which begs the question of whether it (and other similar venues, as I have plans for those as well) should be considered for the 26 in 26 (though the presence of the Westchester County Center on my list should, without a doubt, answer that question). Unlike the the Middletown Sports Complex, however, there's no swimming pool here; I saw something that indicated that the main rink became a roller rink one summer, but have not seen any information as to whether or not they're still doing that.

There are, in essence, two "aspects" to the building: a lobby with your normal amenities (i.e. concessions and merchandise) plus an arcade, and the arena itself. The majority of the seats here (as in the ones that were "open" for this general admission game) are side of the ice opposite the entrances, so you have to walk around the rink to get to them - and just as a fair warning: it is COLD at ice level. If you choose to go up the seats, however, the upper rows of the seating area are warmer. There are also some seating sections on the "near" side of the ice which are "balcony style" (i.e. they end well above the ice, as they're on the same side as the lower entrances). I didn't get to see these up close, as I THINK they were meant to be for "insiders only", so to speak.

Also, I do have to give a special "shout out" to sections 108 and 109 - two of the most UNUSUAL seating sections you'll ever see in ANY arena, as they're tucked into one of the walls. Section 108 is especially weird - it only has 16 seats because the door the Hat Tricks use to access the arena is here as well!

This building, like a lot of other lower level arenas, does not have a center scoreboard, but rather two scoreboards at either end of the ice. At one end, there's a video screen which appears to be nine monitors arranged in a grid, and at the other, a pair of horns used to celebrate goals blare rather loudly if you're sensitive to that kind of thing.

There was basically NO atmosphere for the entire game, which is a bit of a shame as the Hat Tricks withstood a 32-shot barrage and shut out the visiting New Hampshire Mountain Kings 3-0. I realized during this game what makes lower level hockey hard to watch for some: missed passes, whiffed shots, and guys falling over CONSTANTLY does not exactly make for the best entertainment...

MERCH

One of the more curious things about the Hat Tricks: their FPHL and NAHL teams each have their own online stores. The FPHL team has a store run by the team, while the NAHL team has one of those "spirit wear" sites. One thing that I found interesting on the FPHL team store: game used jerseys for both the FPHL and NAHL.

At this game, unfortunately...the merch booth wasn't open. I guess it's only open for FPHL games, and while I DID consider sticking around for the evening contest between the FPHL Hat Tricks and the Indiana Sentinels (a game the Hat Tricks won 7-0), it didn't feel right to me for various reasons (not the least of which was the game ending just before 10:00 PM).

ON DECK

During the game, I found out about another team that plays in the building - in a sport I've been pretty interested in for a while.