The Danbury Hat Tricks have an interesting history. On Dec. 29, 2009, Herm Sorcher walked to the podium in his green tie alongside several other partners which included his father, Lawrence. That day, it was announced that Sorcher would be bringing back true professional hockey to the small city of Danbury, Connecticut with the Whalers.

Three years prior, Danbury hosted a United Hockey League game that included the Danbury Trashers, who were led by Trash Tycoon James Galante and his 20-year-old son, as well as team president AJ. The elder Galante was arrested for racketeering following the 2006 season, where the Trashers lost in the finals to future Bridgeport Sound Tigers goaltender Joel Martin and the Kalamazoo Wings.
After two failed tries in short-lived leagues, Sorcher, who worked for the Hartford Whalers, promised that the Danbury Whalers would stick around for more than two years in an upstart Federal Hockey League. The FHL opened its first season with the team in Danbury, CT, and in the third season, the Whalers won the Federal Hockey League’s Commissioner’s Cup.
After the league expanded to the Midwest and finished the season with only four franchises. The Whalers and Sorcher were evicted from Danbury Arena in 2015. The Danbury Titans, who were owned by local businessman Bruce Bennett, folded after two seasons.
After two years without pro hockey, Sorcher and an ownership group led by Jim and Bill Diamond bought the Danbury Arena with the intent to buy an expansion Federal Hockey League team.
The Danbury Hat Tricks were introduced in May 2019 in a press conference held at Two Steps Downtown Grille, even after the team’s name and logo were leaked the week prior.
In that press conference, it was announced that Billy McCreary would be named the head coach and general manager of the team. McCreary, a third-generation player, never played in the NHL, but his father Bill Jr. played 14 games for the Maple Leafs, while Bill Sr. was an original member of the St. Louis Blues and was a major star, one of the first for the Blues along with Glenn Hall and Al Arbour. For the younger McCreary, he had been a visitor with the Jersey Outlaws and wanted to be apart of the hardnosed style of Danbury Hockey.
Also taking place over the summer, the Danbury Arena, which hadn’t been renovated since the Galante’s had done so, had been given a facelift. A new look was going around the rink. The walls and railings were painted orange, a new bar was placed in the concourse, a new front desk and a luxury suite in the 200 level were added.
Along with all of this was the announcement that a new NA3HL junior team would come to the city, with their managing partner being announced as longtime NHL veteran Colton Orr, who would also be running a hockey academy out of the building. Orr would also be tapped as the new head coach of the NWHL’s Connecticut Whale who would also call Danbury their home as well.

The question is, how does all of this pertain to Bridgeport and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers?

Well, the Whalers were an unofficial Single-A affiliate to the Sound Tigers, and if a player was needed as an emergency, they would go to Bridgeport. Ask Nick Niedert, a minor league veteran of 16 years, who has dressed for over 50 professional teams in ten leagues.
Niedert, the 37-year-old Hudson, Iowa native, made headlines last season when he stepped in for the ECHL’s Reading Royals to play against the Adirondack Thunder. Niedert made 38 saves in the 2-1 win for the struggling Royals.
In 2011, then-Sound Tigers head coach Pat Bingham called Niedert saying that the Sound Tigers need a backup goalie for their game in Hartford. Niedert made the quick hour drive from Danbury, where he was playing with the Whalers, to Hartford to spend the weekend with the Sound Tigers. For Niedert, it was just another stop in a professional hockey career spanning 16 years, 2 countries, and over 16 states.
Niedert has a record of 1-1-1 so far this season in 3 starts including a 30 save effort on 12/28 against his former team in Elmira.

Along with player development has been the shift of fans from the New Haven area, who wanted to see a tougher and affordable brand of hockey. Instead of going to Bridgeport, fans would rather pass Bridgeport to go to Danbury. Those fans would sit behind the opposing bench in Section 102, starting with the Trashers and going all the way to the current Hat Tricks. Those fans are labeled as the most passionate fans in hockey from many different people.
For the Hat Tricks, the team has averaged over 1,200 fans a game, which is good for fourth in a ten-team league. For the Hat Tricks, they play in a 2,500 seat arena in a city of 80,000 while the Sound Tigers average 3,222 fans a game which is good for 28th in a 31-team league, in an arena which holds 8,500 and a city of over 100,000.
The Hat Tricks have also had on-ice success over the past month. Between November 22nd and January 11th, the Hat Tricks won 17 of 19 games which puts them in first place in the Eastern Division.
Also, another note that should be added is that all FPHL Games are streamed for free on YouTube, while the AHL asks for over $30 for a season subscription.

To conclude, as someone who works for Danbury as the team’s Public Address announcer, to see what they have done on and off the ice has been incredible. And a lot of it is due to the hard work of Herm Sorcher, Chris Buonanno, Jack O’Marra and Casey Bryant off the ice, Billy McCreary, and the entire team on the ice for what they have built in nine months, I am proud to be an employee and to share the story of this team.

Christian Gardecki

A Native of Danbury, CT. Christian is one of the longest tenured Drive4Five writers, Christian Gardecki began writing for Drive4five In May of 2017. Christian covers Minor League Hockey and the Bridgeport Islanders for Drive4Five. Outside of Drive4Five, Christian was the captain of his High School Hockey team and currently attends Hofstra University with a major in journalism. Christian was the play by play broadcaster for the Danbury Westerners summer collegiate baseball team during their 2021 NECBL Championship. Christian also was the Public Address Announcer for the Danbury Hat Tricks Minor Pro Hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and NAHL Junior team from 2019-21.