On Monday, December 30, two players from the Danbury Hat Tricks visited C.H. Booth Library. Number 71, Noah Robinson, and Number 5, Matt Pedersen, joined about 30 adults and children for a short story time.

The program started with the players asking the children about hockey. Robinson and Pedersen gauged the audience’s knowledge by first asking if anyone knew what an icing is. One young boy from the crowd answered, and said it was when a player shoots the puck to the other side of the ice and no one from the opposite team can get to it before it crosses the red line.

Robinson said he was right, and then answered questions from the kids about fighting. Someone remarked how sometimes players lose teeth during a fight, and Robinson and Pedersen said they both have, luckily, kept all their teeth, though, some chipping has occurred through the years. The two players shared stories about injuries they sustained at practice from each other.

“[Robinson] hit the puck and it hit me right here in the chin,” Pedersen said, rubbing his chin. “I got five stitches.”

Following the brief question and answer period, the two then read some stories to the children. The first book, read aloud by Robinson, was Dino Hockey by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Barry Gott. The children in front enjoyed identifying the different dinosaurs on the pages. Robinson played along and took breaks from the story to help the kids with identification.

Pedersen then read Hockey: An Introduction to Being a Good Sport by Aaron Derr. This book followed the story of a hockey team that obtains a new player, which disrupts the first line. The three friends on the first line get broken up, and one player is upset by this. The player then learns that the new player, Carter, is an excellent hockey player, and can teach the team a lot of valuable information.

The players answered more questions after the readings were over. A parent from the crowd asked how long they had been playing hockey. Robinson, a Canadian native, shared that he started playing hockey at just three years old, and Pedersen was four.

Another parent asked the players if they had any superstitions for games. Robinson said, “Yeah, I have a lot.”

He shared that if the Hat Tricks win a game, he will eat the same meal before the game, take a nap for the same amount of time, take the same trip to the rink, even if traffic is horrible, and so on.

“If we lose, I’ll switch it up,” Robinson said.

After the second round of questions, Robinson and Pedersen invited the families to take pictures with them. Both players took time to sign items some of the kids brought with them.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.