The inaugural Eastern Professional Hockey League regular season has concluded with the Danbury Mad Hatters missing out on a playoff berth.  The first ever EPHL Championship trophy will go to either the Brooklyn Aces or the Jersey Rockhoppers.

Danbury was skating uphill all season long after their slow start and never could quite make it over the top.  The team personified the fiery mentality of its head coach, former Danbury Trasher player Dave MacIsaac, as it fought to the bitter end.  Facing a nearly insurmountable deficit in the standings, the Hatters kept fighting until being eliminated on the season’s second to last game.

In the waning minutes of a blowout win over the doormat team of the league, the Hudson Valley Bears, Hatters player Jason Michelson dove into the Hudson Valley bench and began swinging at two Bears players and their head coach, former NHL great Phil Esposito.  Esposito took exception to the actions and blamed the fight on Hatters head coach MacIsaac, whom he clearly thinks is mad.

“Dave MacIsaac has had some kind of problem with everything that goes on in this league all year long. He’s just an unclass coach is what he is and he ruined Danbury,” Esposito said after the game.  “There’s no reason for that in an 8-2 game at the end of the season for him to send him out there.”

MacIsaac laughed off Esposito’s claims.  “He can say what he wants,” the coach said, smiling.  “I didn’t send him, but I’m glad he did it.”

Danbury had their chances down the stretch of the season but failed to capitalize in its head to head matchups with the Jersey Rockhoppers.  They dropped the season series 10-7, including the last three games which proved to be the difference in them skating for the EPHL’s first ever championship.