| FINAL SCORE: Vermont 6, No. 16 Northeastern 2 BOSTON – Jonathan Turk scored his first career hat trick as Vermont posted a convincing 6-2 victory over 16th-ranked Northeastern on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams at Matthews Arena. The Catamounts used a four-goal second period to blow the game open, and Turk's final goal late in the third period sealed the win.
Turk added an assist for a four-point night, while captain
Mike Paliotta also registered four points with a goal and three assists.
Mario Puskarich chipped in a goal and two assists, while
Alexx Privitera and
Kyle Reynolds each collected a pair of assists.
"It was a great road win in a tough place to play," said head coach
Kevin Sneddon. "I thought we did a great job of executing our game plan for nearly 60 minutes. It was a total team effort and Jon just happened to make some real good plays in the offensive zone. His line was very, very good tonight and it was a special night for Jon."
In the first period,
Brody Hoffman denied Dalen Hedges on a 3-on-1 rush to keep the game scoreless before Paliotta put the Catamounts ahead at 16:33. Turk fed a pass to the right point, and Paliotta blasted a one-time slap shot that screamed past Clay Witt through a screen to open the scoring.
UVM took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission and doubled the lead midway through the second. Privitera fed Paliotta at the right point and the senior stepped into a shot from above the right faceoff circle. Witt made the initial save, but Puskarich found the rebound and made no mistake into an open net at the left doorstep.
Turk netted his first goal at the 11:33 mark of the second as Reynolds drove down the left wing on the power play. Reynolds threw the puck to the front of the net and Turk poked it home for a 3-0 cushion. Later in the period, Turk tucked a pass from Puskarich just inside the right post as the puck trickled past Witt's pad at 18:08 to extend the lead.
Reynolds was the catalyst again as the period was winding down when he sent a pass to
Jake Fallon in the slot. Fallon delayed to his left before firing a shot back across the net and inside the right pipe for a 5-0 advantage after 40 minutes.
Northeastern drew back to within three with a pair of tallies early in the third, but Vermont weathered the storm before Turk capped of his hat trick. UVM won a faceoff to Privitera at the left point and he directed a quick shot toward the net. Turk tipped the puck down to the ice and through the five-hole of Derick Roy for his third of the evening.
Hoffman finished the night with 22 saves in a winning effort, while Witt and Roy combined for 31 stops for NU. The Catamounts were a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, went 1-for-3 on the power play, and held a 37-24 edge in shots.
Vermont returns to Burlington next Friday (Oct. 17) for its home opener at Gutterson Fieldhouse against Clarkson at 7:05 p.m. The Catamounts and Golden Knights complete a home-and-home series the following night in Potsdam, New York at 7 p.m. Both games can be heard live on WVMT 620-AM and online at SportsJuice.com with pre-game coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. The Friday home opener will be streamed live in high definition for free via CatamounTV.com.
