By Brittany Burke
The chant “Let’s go Whalers” reverberated off the walls as the young hockey team, donning the classic Hartford Whalers blue and green, took the ice for pregame warm-ups, but it wasn’t the Hartford Whalers on the ice, it was the Federal Hockey League’s Danbury Whalers.
The Danbury Ice Arena became the home to the Danbury Whalers as part of the FHL in its inaugural season. The FHL was launched in 2010, with the Whalers as one of the original six teams. As a new single A minor league, the FHL houses teams in New York and Ontario as well as Danbury.
A hockey night in Danbury is truly a family night and offers a good alternative for Connecticut residents who can’t make it to the newly rebranded Connecticut Whale games. Despite being on a smaller scale, the Whalers managed to pack the house with 2,512 fans crowding along the glass and in the stands as the puck dropped against the New York Aviators. The Whalers were just 250 fans shy of matching the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers attendance.
“It’s pretty awesome because the Whalers have an awesome organization, on a night like tonight they had 2,200 fans, they put on a great show for the city of Danbury and it’s not like this anywhere else in the league,” said Joe Dabkowski, former CCSU Blue Devil and current Danbury Whaler.
Saturday night’s game against the Aviators was a white out with the first 1,000 fans receiving a free Whalers t-shirt. The game was also a “Dream Come True Night” sponsored by the Danbury based organization, Western Connecticut Dream. The objective of the organization is to grant wishes to seriously ill children throughout the Litchfield, New Haven and Fairfield counties.
The Whalers organization truly made the night fun for the fans in the audience. Giveaways were done between face-offs, chuck-a-puck was conducted during intermission and the Brass Bonanza rang loud and clear, which only elicited another round of “Let’s go Whalers.”
Despite the Whalers falling at home for the first time of the season in a shutout loss against the Aviators, the fans remained in their seats until the final buzzer and stayed after the game to meet the players and stand in line for autographs.
Even as the deficit grew the fans didn’t become deflated, they cheered as if the Whalers were in the lead, continually banging on the glass with the faint sound of a vuvuzela in the background try and keep the momentum going.
The Whalers are currently 8-7-1 following the loss to the Aviators and are fourth in the league, nine points behind the league leader, Akwesasne, but the team manages to lure in the best fan base in the league. The team is 7-1 at home, and it is clear the Danbury community has embraced the team with open arms.
Even if you are not a hockey fan the Danbury Whalers experience is another good example of professional sports in Connecticut alongside the CT Whale, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Hartford Colonials and New Britain Rock Cats.
The next home game is on Saturday Dec. 11 against the Rome Frenzy at 7:05 p.m.