MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOKAfter closing a five-game homestand last Sunday, Vermont hits the road to begin a five-game road trip at Alfond Arena against Maine on Friday (Nov. 20) at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday (Nov. 21) at 4 p.m. The Friday game will be televised live on Fox College Sports Atlantic (Dish 460, DirecTV 608-1), and live video is available for both games at GoBlackBears.com. Pre-game radio coverage begins 30 minutes before faceoff on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com with
Alastair Ingram and Pavel Navrat '97 on the call.
RELATED LINKS
Video | Audio | Live Stats: Friday | Saturday
CatamounTV Preview | Game Notes (.pdf)
SETTING THE SCENEThe Catamounts took three points from a split series against UConn and UMass Amherst last weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse. UVM defeated UConn 2-1 on Friday before skating to a 3-3 tie with UMass after holding a 3-0 third period lead on Sunday. Vermont won six of seven meetings against Maine last season and out-scored the Black Bears 27-16 in those seven contests, including a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3 of the Hockey East Opening Round. The Cats have also won three straight games at Alfond Arena.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARSMaine is winless (0-8-3) in its first 11 games and rides an eight-game losing streak into the weekend after tying its opening three games. The Black Bears were swept by UMass Lowell last weekend in a Hockey East home-and-home series, 2-1 on the road Friday and 6-0 at home on Sunday. Senior Will Merchant leads the team with four goals and is tied for the team-lead in points with junior Cam Brown (one goal, three assists). Rookie Rob McGovern has started eight contests between the pipes with an 0-6-2 record, 2.45 goals against average, and .922 save percentage. Red Gendron, the former coach of BFA St. Albans High School in Vermont, is in his third season as the head coach.
SERIES HISTORYFriday marks the 52nd meeting of the all-time series, which UVM leads 25-22-4. The Catamounts swept the Black Bears with 4-3 (OT) and 4-1 wins in a Hockey East series at Gutterson Fieldhouse last November. Later that month, UVM collected a pair of three-goal wins with 6-3 and 4-1 final scores in a non-conference series at Alfond Arena. The Cats had their streak of eight consecutive wins against the Black Bears snapped in Game 2 of the Hockey East Opening Round in Burlington, which is their longest winning streak in series history. In the last 13 meetings, UVM owns a record of 10-2-1 against Maine.
FRIDAY: VERMONT 2, UCONN 1 | HighlightsSenior
Dan Senkbeil netted the second game-winning goal in his last five games to lead Vermont past UConn 2-1 for its first home win of the season on Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Rookies
Craig Puffer and
Conor O'Neil picked up their first career points with assists on the game-winner at 9:05 of the final frame. The Catamounts out-shot the Huskies 36-21 on the night, including edges of 13-4 in the first period and 17-5 in the third.
Mike Santaguida stopped 20 shots for his third win of the year.
SUNDAY: VERMONT 3, UMASS 3 | HighlightsUMass Amherst scored three unanswered goals in the third period and came back from 3-0 down to earn a Hockey East tie. Ray Pigozzi fired home a rebound with an extra attacker at 19:20 to knot the score and send the contest to overtime. Senior captain
Yvan Pattyn finished the afternoon with a pair of assists, and rookie
Brian Bowen scored his first career goal.
Jonathan Turk and
Alexx Privitera netted the other UVM tallies, while
Mike Santaguida finished the afternoon with 34 saves. Vermont posted a season-high 44 shots on goal.
CATAMOUNT NOTESAlexx Privitera made his 100th career appearance last Sunday vs. UMass.
Mario Puskarich is the program's active leading scorer and notched his team-best 10th point and 70th career point last Friday against UConn.
Jarrid Privitera has scored four goals in his last seven games and is one away from matching his freshman year goal total of six. Six different Catamount rookies have posted their first collegiate points this season, including
Mike Lee's first-ever goal on Nov. 6 against UMass Lowell. Head coach
Kevin Sneddon is just eight wins shy of his 200th victory behind the UVM bench and his 250th career NCAA victory.
WHO'S NEXTAfter Thanksgiving, Vermont travels to face Penn State at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. in the fourth annual Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff. Pre-game coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com.
