DANBURY, Conn. — Captain Cael Primanti's words didn't fall on deaf ears — the Aviators played a full sixty minutes and dominated the Jr. Hat Tricks on Saturday.
The Aviators (1-1) converted 40 shots on goal into a 4-1 win to split the weekend against the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks (1-1).
“From the 3rd period yesterday, we started to play our game, playing simple and tough hockey, and we brought that to today's game for 60 minutes.”
The ice was tilted from the start, and it didn't take long for the Aviators to break through. Off the back of net-front presence from forwards Max McGuire and Jake Baratta, forward Jack Kohlmann shot a wrister into a wide-open goal at 14:04. Five minutes later, more offensive-zone time led to a shot from defenseman Marek Brozyna getting redirected into the net by forward Max Festa.
In the second, the Aviators put Danbury goaltender Ty Ferguson into a shooting gallery, posting 17 shots on net. With 11:06 left, forward Nico-Patrick Pohjola converted one of those shots for a third goal, assisted by Max Festa and Cruz Ferguson.
The Jr. Hat Tricks eventually scored in the second to cut the lead to two. The lone second-period goal denied goaltender Jake Shingles a shutout in his first start. Shingles finished the night with 21 saves on 22 shots.
“I thought we had a fantastic team win. The boys fought hard in every area of the ice and made my job relatively easy.”
With the puck at the near point and an empty net late into the third, forward Liam McCloy fired home the period's highlight — his first NAHL goal — to seal the victory.
“We are very happy to get our first win of the season under our belts. Last night we didn't get the result we wanted, and the boys responded the way we expected they would.”
The Aviators will travel to New Hampshire next week to take on the Mountain Kings. In their first series, New Hampshire was swept by the Titans and outscored 12-5. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Friday.
Story by Kevin Broderick. Every date, home and away, is on the full 2026-27 schedule.