FINAL SCORE: Providence 11, Vermont 8
BURLINGTON, Vt.  – A late fourth quarter rally by Providence lifted the Friars 11-8 over Vermont in the Catamounts' home opener Saturday afternoon at Virtue Field. UVM falls to an even 2-2 on the season, while Providence improves to 2-2.

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Juniors Ian MacKay and Cam Milligan each tallied two points, as MacKay posted a pair of goals and Milligan recorded a goal and an assist. Six more Catamounts notched a goal, including sophomore defenseman James Leary.
 
Joseph McHale and Michael Perettine combined for six points as each registered a pair of goals and an assist for Providence. Joshua Keller and Conner Byrne also added two goals to the Friar effort, and Jarrod Neumann collected a game-high four ground balls.

The Keller and Perettine duo gave Providence an early two-goal advantage less than two minutes into the first period. Vermont was unable to connect on four first-period shots and trailed the Friars 2-0 after 15 minutes.
 
Vermont notched three unanswered goals to start the second quarter. Milligan took advantage of a Providence penalty and was able to put one low past Tate Boyce for the first Catamount score of the game. Minutes later, junior midfielder Alex Stanko scored his third goal of the season on a feed from Milligan and tied the game at two apiece.
 
MacKay put UVM up for the first time on an unassisted strike, but Providence's McHale and Keller answered back with a pair of goals and put the Friars up 4-3 at the half.
 
Senior James Barlow tied the game at four with his 13th goal of the season at the 9:45 mark for Vermont's second man-up goal of the day. A trio of unanswered scores by Providence was halted by Leary's breakaway goal and a second stinger by MacKay (6-7).
 
McHale put the Friars up two with four minutes remaining in the third, but Nick Bartlett and freshman Dawes Milchling knotted the game at eight apiece heading into the final quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter Will Mazzone and a pair of scores from Byrne sealed the 11-8 Providence victory.
 
Jon Kaplan (2-1) made six saves in the cage for Vermont, while Boyce (2-2) also registered six saves for the Friars and picked up his second win of the season.
 
The Catamounts narrowly outshot the Friars 31-30, but Providence edged Vermont in ground balls 14-13. Alex George went 10-for-19 on draws for Providence, while junior Luc LeBlanc was 9-for-19.  

UVM gears up for back-to-back road games over the next two weeks, starting with the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, March 5. Face-off at the Big House in Ann Arbor is set for 1 p.m. Vermont then heads to Oshawa, Ontario on Tuesday, March 8 to take on Canisius at 3 p.m.