FINAL SCORE: No. 3 Providence 6, Vermont 3BURLINGTON, Vt. – Trevor Mingoia and Mark Jankowski each netted a pair of goals and third-ranked Providence skated to a 6-3 Hockey East win on Military Appreciation Night as UVM closed a six-game homestand on Saturday at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
The Friars improved to 15-3-4 (6-1-3 HEA) and swept the weekend series, while the Catamounts dropped to 9-14-2 (3-7-2 HEA) to finish the homestand 4-2-0.
RELATED LINKSCatamounTV HighlightsBox Score Jankowski, Anthony Florentino, and Mingoia gave the Friars a 3-0 cushion after one period with a 16-6 edge in shots. Providence carried a major power play into the second, and Mingoia added his second of the night 33 seconds in with a forehand deke around
Packy Munson (26 saves) for a 4-0 advantage.
Vermont answered through
Mitch Ferguson at the tail end of a power play five and a half minutes into the period.
Kevin Irwin whipped a pass into the slot from below the goal line, and Ferguson fired a shot off the right post to beat Nick Ellis (31 saves) for his first of the year.
Just 21 seconds after the Ferguson tally, Brandon Tanev beat Munson five-hole from the left wing on an odd-man rush to restore the four-goal lead. After a flurry of penalties, Jankowski potted his second goal of the contest blocker side to give the Friars a 6-1 lead at the 9:25 mark.
Dan Senkbeil responded less than a minute later for Vermont, following up a
Jarrid Privitera shot.
Mario Puskarich then tipped home a
Brendan Bradley feed from a weak angle near the right goal line to cut the Providence lead back to three.
Alexx Privitera nearly made it 6-4 but hit the left post on a low right point drive during a late second period power play.
UVM once again thought it had cut the lead to 6-4 three minutes into the third as
Conor O'Neil drove the net from the left goal line. The rookie stuffed the puck across the goal line, but the goal was waved off after video review due to contact with the goaltender Ellis.
Vermont had two power plays early in the third, including a five-minute major, but Ellis made a pair of point-blank right pad saves to preserve the Friars' three-goal cushion. The Catamounts out-shot Providence 16-4 in the third and pulled Munson for an extra skater with 2:30 to play, but couldn't draw a goal back.
UVM hits the road next weekend with Hockey East matchups against UConn on Friday (Jan. 22) at 8:30 p.m. on NESN and Saturday (Jan. 23) against UMass at 7 p.m. Pre-game radio coverage begins 30 minutes prior to faceoff each night on WVMT 620-AM, SportsJuice.com, and the TuneIn app with
Alastair Ingram and Andy Merritt on the call.
