MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
13th-ranked Vermont rings in the New Year this weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse against the Bentley Falcons on Friday (Dec. 30) at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday (Dec. 31) at 4 p.m. Tickets are available by logging on to UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by calling the UVM Athletic Ticket Office at 802-656-4410. 

Live video of the series is available for free in high definition via CatamounTV.com. Pre-game radio coverage begins 30 minutes prior to faceoff on WVMT 620-AM and Catamounts All-Access with Alastair Ingram on the call.

RELATED LINKS
Video | Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
Game Notes (.pdf)

PROMOTIONS
Fans can visit the promotions table on Friday to enter the Flat Fee Real Estate raffle for a chance to win four tickets to watch the men's basketball team take on Harvard on Jan. 2 along with four passes to the Victory Club Coaches Circle. The winner will be announced during the second intermission. On Saturday, fans who attend the women's hockey game against Yale at 12 p.m. can purchase a ticket to the New Year's Eve men's game for only $10.

NEW YEAR'S EVE PARKING
Fans will have a chance to celebrate the New Year at First Night and at the men's hockey game on Saturday. Please be aware that First Night parking is also located at UVM so parking lots may become full quicker than normal. Shuttle parking will be available if the Gutterson garage is full.

FIRST HALF RECAP
Vermont posted a 10-6-2 record prior to the holiday break and a 5-3-1 mark in Hockey East play, which is good for a three-way tie for third place. UVM had a seven-game unbeaten streak from Nov. 12 to Dec. 9 but rides a three-game losing streak into the second half. The Catamounts picked up five wins over ranked teams and won the Belpot Trophy as champions of the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

Ross Colton leads the team with seven goals and 14 points, while fellow rookie Derek Lodermeier is tied with Colton for the team-high with seven assists. Freshman Stefanos Lekkas currently ranks 10th nationally in goals against average (2.12) and 11th in save percentage (.925), while sitting tied for ninth in winning percentage (.714) with a 9-3-2 record in 14 appearances. 

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bentley began the season with a 5-1 road win over New Hampshire and a 1-1 tie against Northeastern, but the Falcons have gone just 2-6-3 overall in their last 11 games. Senior forward Max French leads the team in goals (7), assists (11), and points (18) and also leads active Bentley skaters with 122 career points in 116 games.

Junior Jayson Argue has started all but one game in net with a 2.87 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Bentley is clicking at just 9.2-percent on the power play to rank fourth-worst in the country and 78.8-percent on the penalty kill. 2000 Bentley graduate Ryan Soderquist is in his 15th season as the head coach of the Falcons.

SERIES HISTORY
Vermont and Bentley are meeting for the first time in the all-time series on Friday. Kevin Sneddon is 6-2-1 against Atlantic Hockey schools during his tenure at UVM. The Catamounts defeated Canisius and Air Force from Atlantic Hockey during their 2013 and 2014 Catamount Cup titles. 

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont continues a stretch of four games in nine days next Tuesday (Jan. 3) when it hosts former ECAC rival St. Lawrence. The Catamounts then close an eight-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 7 as they return to Hockey East play against Northeastern at 7:05 p.m.