VERMONT WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont women's hockey team (6-17-2, 4-9-2 HEA) returns to action this weekend as they travel to face No. 1 Boston College (24-0-0, 16-0-0 HEA) in a two-game Hockey East series. The Catamounts will faceoff with the undefeated Eagles at 7 p.m. on Friday night and then again at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

RELATED LINKS
Friday vs. Boston College -Live Video ($)|Live Stats
Saturday vs. Boston College -Live Video ($)|Live Stats

PACK THE GUT PRESENTED BY THE WINDJAMMER NEXT WEEKEND
The University of Vermont Athletic Department hosts the third annual Pack the Gut Challenge presented by theThe Windjammer Restaurant on January 29 vs. UConn at 7 p.m. Two years ago UVM women's hockey successfully broke the Hockey East regular season attendance record of 1,498 as 2,028 fans attended their game against Boston College.

The goal this season is to break that attendance record and support the Burlington Meals on Wheels, a non-profit organization that delivers home-delivered meal service to people in need. Admission is only $2, free for UVM students! Help us break the Hockey East attendance record.

COACH PLUMER ON 101.3 ESPN FOR CHAMPLAIN VALLEY GAME NIGHT
On Tuesday night head coach Jim Plumer joined A.J. Kanell from the Windjammer's Upper Deck Pub to co-host Champlain Valley Game Night on 101.3 ESPN as they discussed the Pack the Gut event next weekend. Coach Plumer's portion begins at the 11:17 mark, click here to listen live.

COLANG LEADING THE WAY
Senior forward Dayna Colangis leading the Catamounts in scoring for the second straight season. This year she has 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 25 games. In her career at Vermont she now has 89 total points which ranks third all-time behindBrittany Zuback(97) andAmanda Pelkey(105). In all six of the Catamounts wins this season she has registered at least a point.

WILLARD STEPPING UP AS A SOPHOMORE
With seven points in the final eight games of the regular season as a freshman it was safe to assume sophomore defenseman Taylor Willard could be counted on to score from the blue line this year. She has not disappointed Willard is second on the team in scoring with six goals and six assists for 12 points. 10 of Willard's 12 points have come in Hockey East play and last weekend against Boston University she had her first career multi-goal game with two tallies in a 3-3 tie against the Terriers.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS IN LEAGUE PLAY
Vermont's power play and penalty kill efforts have been impactful in Hockey East contests. The Catamounts power play is 12-for-50 in league play good for 24.0%, which is second only to Boston College. 11 of Vermont's 12 power play goals have come in league play. Vermont's penalty kill efforts in league play have been successful 87.2% of the time, which is third in the league behind Boston College and Northeastern.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
#1 Boston College: The Eagles and the Plattsburgh women (DIII) are the only remaining undefeated teams in men's or women's college hockey. Boston College enters the weekend on a 24-game winning streak, they need a win on Friday to match the Eagles' program record with 25 wins in a row. The Eagles are also an NCAA record 44-0-1 in their last 45 home games.

The Eagles special teams have led the way for Boston College this season. Their power play (28.9%) and penalty kill (93.9%) are ranked second in the NCAA. The Eagles have scored 26 power play goals this season in 24 games. To put that in perspective last season Vermont was tied for 1^st in Hockey East with Boston College and Boston University with 28 power play goals over the course of the entire season.

Senior forward and former U.S. Olympian Alex Carpenter leads the Eagles in scoring with 28 goals and 27 assists for 55 points this season. Carpenter is second in the NCAA in goals and points. Her classmate Haley Skarupa is currently fourth in the NCAA with 47 points.

With the Eagles win at Harvard on Tuesday sophomore goaltender Katie Burt is the fastest to 50 wins in NCAA history. In her career she is now 50-3-2 with a 1.08 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage.

Vermont is 0-9 -1 against the Eagles under Coach Plumer, it is the only Hockey East opponent the Catamounts have not beaten in his tenure at UVM. The Catamounts last win against Boston College came on November 7, 2009 in a 5-1 win at Kelley Rink.

In the last meeting between the two teams, a 2-0 win for Boston College at Gutterson Fieldhouse on January 18, 2015, Madison Litchfield made a career-high 49 saves.

VERMONT AGAINST THE TOP RANKED TEAM
Prior to this weekend Vermont has only faced the No. 1 ranked team in the country five times in program history. The Catamounts are 0-5-0 against the No. 1 team in program history having lost to New Hampshire on February 25/26, 2006 and BC three times last season.

KAYLA KRUK JOINS WOMEN'S HOCKEY THROUGH TEAM IMPACT
The women's hockey team officially drafted seven-year-old Shelburne, Vt. native Kayla Kruk through Team IMPACT. Kayla celebrated her draft day with the Catamounts last Saturday in a ceremony facilitated by the 501(c)(3) non-profit, Team IMPACT, whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team. Click hereto read more about Kayla and Team IMPACT.

TEAM LEADERS
SeniorGina Repaciand juniorSarah Kellywill serve as co-captains for the University of Vermont women's hockey team this season.

ALL ACROSS THE MAP
The Catamounts have players from 10 different states (Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont), two Canadian provinces (Alberta and Ontario) and two other countries (Czech Republic and Finland). Vermont has four players from Ontario more than any other state or province.

The 2015-16 Vermont women's hockey campaign is brought to you by the Windjammer Restaurant and Inn.