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HOCKEY EAST OPENING ROUND
No. 7 Vermont (18-12-4, 10-9-3 HEA) vs. No. 10 Maine (13-20-3, 8-12-2 HEA)
TV: FCS Atlantic | Radio: WVMT 620-AM | Video ($): HockeyEastOnline.TV
Game 1: Friday, March 6, 2015, 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, March 7, 2015, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, March 8, 2015, 7:05 p.m.
Video ($) | Audio | Live Stats | Tickets | Game Notes | CaTV Preview

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VERMONT MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The 17th-ranked Vermont men's hockey team hosts league rival Maine this weekend in the best-of-three Hockey East Opening Round at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Games 1 and 2 are set for Friday (March 6) and Saturday (March 7) at 7:05 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 would be played on Sunday (March 8) at 7:05 p.m. The 7-seed Catamounts and 10-seed Black Bears will battle for a spot in the league quarterfinals next weekend.
 
TICKETS | Buy Online
Tickets are still available for the playoff series. Reserved seats cost $22 for adults and $17 for children 17 and under, while general admission tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. Tickets can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gym (open 8 a.m.-6 p.m.). The Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office opens at 6 p.m. prior to each game.

COVERAGE | FCS Channel Finder
All the action this weekend will be televised live on FOX College Sports Atlantic, as well as WVII, WFVX, and WPME in Maine. DISH Network will air Game 1 on channel 463 and Game 2 on channel 458. Check your listings for availability on local cable providers (channel finder). The games will not be available on DirecTV. Pack Network will stream all Hockey East playoff games on a pay-per-view basis via HockeyEastOnline.TV. Fans can purchase a league pass for up to 20 playoff games for $59.95, and individual games are available for $9.95 each. Pre-game radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM, SportsJuice.com, and the TuneIn Radio app each night with Alastair Ingram on the call.

SETTING THE SCENE
UVM posted its best Hockey East regular season record (10-9-3) since 2009 for the No. 7 seed, while Maine earned the No. 10 seed with a league mark of 8-12-2. Vermont won all four meetings against Maine in the regular season and out-scored the Black Bears 18-8 as 10 different Catamounts recorded goals. UVM is ranked 17th in this week's USCHO.com poll and sits 19th in the Pairwise rankings, which determine the NCAA Tournament field.

THE SEASON SERIES
UVM posted a weekend home sweep in Hockey East play on Nov. 7-8 with a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win followed by a 4-1 triumph. Later in the month, Vermont collected a pair of non-conference wins at Alfond Arena, beating the Black Bears 6-3 and 4-1 on Nov. 28-29. Colin Markison, Mike Paliotta, and Jake Fallon all posted six points in the season series, while Mario Puskarich registered four goals. Vermont out-shot Maine in all four contests by a combined total of 47 and went 4-for-17 on the power play and 16-for-18 on the penalty kill.

PLAYOFF NOTES
The Catamounts are the No. 7 seed for the second straight season. This is the first time that Vermont and Maine have met in the Hockey East playoffs since UVM joined the league in 2005. The Catamounts have lost Game 1 in each of their last five series openers in the Hockey East tournament. UVM has only advanced once after dropping the first game, posting back-to-back 1-0 shutouts at No. 1 seed New Hampshire in 2010 after falling 7-4.

RINSE AND REPEAT
The only other time in program history that Vermont had defeated the same team four times in a single season was RPI during the 1995-96 campaign. That season, UVM beat the Engineers once at home, once on the road, and twice in the ECAC quarterfinals before advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four. Vermont has never defeated the same team five or six times in a season.

SCOUTING MAINE | Website
Since the teams last met in November, Maine has a 10-9-2 record. The Black Bears were swept on the road by Providence to close the regular season last weekend with a pair of 5-2 losses at Schneider Arena. Junior captain Devin Shore leads Maine in goals (13), assists (21), and points (34), while sophomore Cam Brown has added 26 points. Sean Romeo (19 starts) and Matt Morris (17 starts) have split time in the net, combining for a 3.23 goals against average and an .898 save percentage. Former BFA St. Albans head coach Red Gendron is in his second year at the helm.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday marks the 49th meeting of the all-time series, which UVM leads 23-21-4 after winning all four regular season meetings with Maine. The Catamounts have won seven consecutive games against the Black Bears to mark their longest winning streak in series history. In the last 10 meetings, UVM owns a record of 8-1-1 against Maine. Kevin Sneddon is 16-14-4 against the Black Bears during his tenure at Vermont.

GUT SWEET GUT
Vermont is 9-5-2 in 16 home games this season at Gutterson Fieldhouse and has played in front of a sellout crowd (4,007) in 14 of those 16 contests. UVM is out-shooting its opponents by an average of nearly seven per game in Burlington, allowing just 23.8 shots per contest. The Catamounts are 15-for-62 on the power play for a 24.2% success rate. As a team, Vermont has won 52% of its faceoffs at Gutterson this year. Mike Paliotta leads the squad with 15 points, four power play goals, and 65 shots on goal, while Colin Markison has scored seven of his eight goals at home.

SHOOTING GALLERY
Vermont is averaging north of 35 shots per game over its last six contests. The Catamounts have set a new season-high in shots in two of the last five games, firing 49 shots on target during the Senior Night tie against Merrimack. No opponent out-shot Vermont in eight games during the month of February, and UVM registered at least 30 shots on goal in six of those eight games.