FINAL SCORE: Vermont 14, Holy Cross 8
WORCESTER, Mass. – Vermont scored eight unanswered goals spanning the second and third quarters en route to a 14-8 win over Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. Vermont improves to 2-1 on the season, while the Crusaders fall to 0-2.  
 
Junior Ian MacKay led all scorers with six points on four goals and a pair of assists. James Barlow and Dawes Milchling each registered a hat trick and a helper while Cam Milligan dished out a team-best three assists. Junior netminder Jon Kaplan stopped 17 shots between the pipes to win his second game of the season.
 
Marc Buermann paced seven Crusaders with scores as he tallied a pair of goals and handed out an assist. Joe Reilly collected a game-best nine ground balls and went 15-for-24 at the faceoff X.

Holy Cross jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but MacKay responded with a pair of goals in the fourth and fifth minutes of the opening quarter. The Crusaders' Connor Sofield sent one past Kaplan and Matthew Fischetti scored on man-up opportunity to give Holy Cross a 4-2 lead after 15 minutes.
 
The Catamounts stormed back with five unanswered goals in the second quarter. Barlow notched his 10th goal of the season on a helper from Nick Bartlett 10 seconds into the frame before Milligan fed a pass to Milchling along the crease to tie it up at four apiece at the 12:06 mark. The freshman tallied his second goal of the quarter six minutes later to give UVM it's first lead of the game (5-4).
 
MacKay got his first-half hat trick on a bounce shot into the lower right corner of the Crusaders' cage and then Barlow followed suit burrying his second score with 2:34 remaining to make it 7-4. Kaplan closed the half tallying nine saves as Holy Cross outshot Vermont, 18-16.
 
Alex Stanko, Barlow and MacKay extended UVM's lead to 10-4 in the early minutes of the third quarter. The Cats held Holy Cross scoreless for 23:31 until Kevin Lux ended the Crusader's drought with a goal seven minutes into the third. 
 
Milligan found MacKay on the doorstep for the final score of the quarter to stake UVM out to a 12-5 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
 
Holy Cross outscored Vermont 3-2 in the fourth quarter but it was not enough as UVM held on for its second win of the season and second straight on the road.  
 
The Catamounts outshot the Crusaders 36-34 and held a 37-33 edge in ground balls.

Vermont returns to Burlington for its home opener against Providence College on Saturday (Feb. 27). Face off against the Friars at Virtue Field is set for 1 p.m.

Tickets to the game can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com/Tickets, in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office located in Patrick Gymnasium (M-F: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), via the phone at 802-656-4410, or in person one hour before game time at the Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office.