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2015 HOCKEY EAST SEMIFINAL
Friday, March 20, 2015, 5 p.m. | TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
No. 16 Vermont (22-14-4) vs. No. 12 UMass Lowell (20-11-6)
TV: NESN, NBCSN, TSN2 | Video: NBC Sports Live Extra | Radio: WVMT 620-AM
Video | Audio | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes | CatamounTV Preview

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VERMONT MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The 16th-ranked Vermont men's hockey team squares off against 12th-ranked UMass Lowell in the 2015 Hockey East Semifinal at 5 p.m. on Friday (March 20) at TD Garden in Boston. The No. 7 seed Catamounts and No. 4 seed River Hawks battle for a spot in the Hockey East Championship Game on Saturday (March 21) at 7 p.m. 8-seed New Hampshire will face top-seed Boston University in the second semifinal at 8 p.m. on Friday.

COVERAGE
All the action will be televised live on NESN, NBC Sports Network, and TSN2 in Canada. Pre-game radio coverage begins begins at 4:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM, SportsJuice.com, and the TuneIn Radio app with Alastair Ingram and Joe Gervais on the call.

TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-653-8000, online through Ticketmaster, or in person at the TD Garden Box Office. Vermont fan sections are located in Club 107, Loge 22, and Balcony 330.

PRE-GAME RECEPTION
Join us at a pre-game reception hosted by the UVM Alumni Association and Vermont Athletics at the Greatest Bar from 3-4:30 pm. on Friday (March 20). The Greatest Bar is located across the street from TD Garden in Boston at 262 Friend Street. Gather with fellow Catamount fans for light appetizers, green and gold pom poms, tattoos and a cash bar (full menu available). All Vermont fans are invited to gather again on Saturday (March 21) starting at 4:30 p.m. if UVM plays in the championship game.

SETTING THE SCENE
Vermont skated past 10-seed Maine and 3-seed Boston College in a pair of three-game series to reach the Hockey East final four. The Catamounts are making their first appearance at the Garden since reaching the Hockey East Semifinal five seasons ago in 2010. UVM is ranked 16th in this week's USCHO.com poll and is just two spots outside the top-15 in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll. Vermont sits 19th overall in the Pairwise Rankings, which determine the field for the NCAA Tournament, while UMass Lowell is tied for 16th.

CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
This marks the third postseason matchup between UVM and UMass Lowell after meeting in the quarterfinal round in 2009 and 2014. The Cats' last appearance in the semifinal was a 3-0 loss to Boston College in 2010 after a historic quarterfinal upset of top-seed UNH. UVM's only win at TD Garden came during the 2008 semifinal as the 3-seed with a 3-1 victory against 2-seed Boston University. Vermont fell to Boston College that season in its only title game appearance.  

20 IN TWO STRAIGHT
Vermont has registered back-to-back 20-win campaigns for just the third time in its Division I era and the fourth time in school history. It marks the first time that UVM has accomplished the feat since the back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams of 1996 and 1997. Those squads, led by Martin St. Louis, Eric Perrin, and Tim Thomas, also earned the school's first-ever trip to the Frozen Four in 1995-96. This year's 22 victories matches the program's highest total since the 2008-09 campaign, when UVM earned its second Frozen Four berth.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS | Website
UMass Lowell beat 5-seed Notre Dame in a three-game quarterfinal series last weekend at home to advance to the Garden for the third straight season. After starting 15-4-3, the River Hawks are just 5-7-3 in their last 15 games. Hockey East All-Rookie selection C.J. Smith leads UMass Lowell in goals (16), assists (19), points (35), power play goals (5), and shots on goal (103). Junior transfer Kevin Boyle has started 30 games in net with a 17-8-6 record, 2.38 goals against average, and .916 save percentage. Norm Bazin is in his fourth year as the head coach and has led Lowell to three consecutive NCAA Tournament bids and back-to-back Hockey East crowns.

REGULAR SEASON SERIES
UMass Lowell took three points from the Catamounts in a two-game weekend series at Tsongas Center to close the regular season on Feb. 27-28. Mike Santaguida posted 27 saves on Friday night but the River Hawks held off Vermont for a 4-1 Hockey East victory to open the series. Joe Gambardella's shorthanded tally in the second period proved to be the game-winner. On Saturday, Mike Paliotta scored the game-tying goal with just 2:45 left in regulation as Vermont earned a point in a 2-2 tie. The Catamounts held the River Hawks to just 15 shots on goal for a season-best effort and limited Lowell to two shots in the third period.

SERIES HISTORY
UMass Lowell has a slight edge of 21-16-7 in the series heading into tonight's 45th all-time matchup between the schools. The Catamounts are 2-4-1 against the River Hawks in the last two seasons. All five meetings last year took place in a two-week span, and all five were decided by one goal as Lowell out-scored Vermont 10-9 in the season series. With its 3-2 victory on Senior Night in Burlington last season, UVM snapped a six-game winless streak (0-5-1) against Lowell dating back to Jan. 13, 2012.  

BEST DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN
On Wednesday, Mike Paliotta was announced as the Old Time Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman in Hockey East, becoming the first UVM player to win the award. The senior has skated in 103 consecutive contests and has missed just five games in his career, tying a program-record with 40 games played this season. During Hockey East games, Paliotta cut down his penalty minutes from 39 as a junior to only 14 this season. The captain helped UVM secure this year's Charlie Holt Sportsmanship Award with an average of 8.5 penalty minutes per game in its 22 league contests.

BRADY'S BREAKOUT
With a team-best 19 goals, Brady Shaw is one goal shy of becoming Vermont's first 20-goal scorer since Viktor Stalberg (24) during the 2008-09 season. The Ottawa native has 11 goals in his last 15 games and ranks fourth in the country in second half goal scoring with 13 tallies since the holiday break. The sophomore has already surpassed his freshman year point total by 20 to rank second on the team in points (31) and third in shots on goal (111). He is tied for first in Hockey East with nine power play goals, tied for fourth in game-winning goals (4), and tied for sixth in total goals (19).

GUESS WHO'S BACK
Brody Hoffman, who hadn't seen game action in a month before last weekend, was named the Hockey East Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Hoffman allowed just one goal and stopped 87 of the 88 shots he faced against No. 9 Boston College in three playoff appearances for a .989 save percentage. The junior posted a 36-save shutout in Game 3 to help the Catamounts clinch the series at Conte Forum and tied a career-high with 39 saves in Game 2. Hoffman ranks ninth in the nation with a .700 winning percentage (13-5-2) and 16th overall with a 2.01 goals against average.