VERMONT WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont women's hockey team (6-19-2, 4-11-2 HEA) returns to action this weekend as they host Connecticut (9-12-5, 5-8-3 HEA) in a two-game Hockey East series. The Catamounts will faceoff with the Huskies at 7 p.m. on Friday night and then again at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

RELATED LINKS
Friday vs. UConn - Live Video (free) | Live Stats
Saturday vs. UConn - Live Video (free) | Live Stats
 
PACK THE GUT CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY THE WINDJAMMER
Tomorrow night the Catamounts will be hosting the third annual "Pack The Gut" Challenge presented by the Windjammer. Two years ago, Vermont 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 the attendance record again and support the local Meals on Wheels organization. Meals on Wheels is a non-profit organization that delivers home-delivered meal service to people in need. Representatives will be handing out Meals on Wheels tote bags at their table in the lobby and will also be accepting check and cash donations for the organization.

Over by the student entrance, Vermont/SGA themed socks provided by Student Government Association, and Go Cats Go banners provided by TD Bank will be distributed to students as they enter the game.

Admission is only $2 and a­ll proceeds from a second period Chuck-a-Puck as well as five percent of merchandise sales will benefit Meals on Wheels in Burlington. As always admission is free for all UVM students with a valid I.D.
 
SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
The Catamounts will honor their two seniors Dayna Colang and Gina Repaci with a pregame ceremony Saturday afternoon. The duo have helped Vermont win a program record 47 games over the last four years, including a record 29 games in Hockey East.
 
COLANG HOSTS CATAMOUNT WEEKLY PRESENTED BY XFINITY
To help promote Pack The Gut senior forward Dayna Colang hosted UVM's weekly recap show, "Catamount Weekly" on Wednesday. Click here to watch the episode which also features Madison Litchfield and head coach Jim Plumer.
 
FOLLOW THE CATAMOUNTS AND MADISON LITCHFIELD ON SNAPCHAT
This week junior goaltender Madison Litchfield has been using Snapchat to give a behind the scenes look at life as a women's hockey player at Vermont as the Catamounts prepare for Connecticut and Pack The Gut presented by the Windjammer. Add the Catamounts account at UVM_athletics to follow along.
 
COLANG LEADING THE WAY
Senior forward Dayna Colang is leading the Catamounts in scoring for the second straight season. This year she has 10 goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 27 games. In her career at Vermont she now has 91 total points which ranks third all-time behind Brittany Zuback(97) and Amanda 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 seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. 12 of Willard's 14 points have come in Hockey East play and last weekend she had a goal and an assist at No. 1 Boston College on Saturday.
 
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 13-for-57 in league play good for 22.8%, which is third in Hockey East behind No. 1 Boston College and No. 6 Northeastern. 12 of Vermont's 13 power play goals have come in league play. Vermont's penalty kill efforts in league play have been successful 87.3% of the time, which is also third in the league behind BC and Northeastern.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Connecticut: The Huskies make the trip to Gutterson Fieldhouse on a three-game losing streak having dropped a two-game series on the weekend with No. 6 Northeastern before falling at home to No. 9 Princeton on Monday night.
 
Connecticut currently sits in fifth place in Hockey East three points ahead of Vermont making this a pivotal weekend series. The Huskies defeated Vermont 3-2 at home in November. New Hampshire currently holds the final home-ice slot in the quarterfinals with 14 points, four more then UVM and one more than the Huskies. Next weekend the Catamounts travel to UNH for a two-game series.
 
Sophomore forwards Theresa Knutson and Justine Fredette lead the Huskies in scoring with 21 points apiece. Knutson also leads the team this season with 13 goals including one against Vermont in the teams' earlier meeting.
 
Vermont is 7-22-2 all-time against the Huskies. Over the last three seasons under Coach Plumer the Catamounts are 6-4-0 against UConn.
 
Six of the last nine games in the UConn/Vermont series have been shutout wins for one team or the other. Going back even further 10 of the last 16 games in the series have involved a shutout. The last shutout in the series came on November 2, 2014 as Madison Litchfield made 19 saves in a 6-0 Vermont win at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
COLANG SET TO ESTABLISH NEW UVM RECORD FOR GAMES PLAYED
Dayna Colang has skated in 130 of the 132 games for Vermont over the last four years. The program record of 137 career games is held by Brittany Zuback (2011-15). The Catamounts have seven more regular season games which if Colang dressed in all seven she would tie Zuback. If Vermont makes the Hockey East tournament, the Catamounts would be guaranteed two more games.
 
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 here to read more about Kayla and Team IMPACT.
 
TEAM LEADERS
Senior Gina Repaci and junior Sarah Kelly will 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.