MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Vermont and its longest standing rival No. 12 New Hampshire face off in the Catamounts' Hockey East opener on Saturday (Oct. 28) at 7:05 p.m. at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Tickets are still available by logging on to UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by calling 802-656-4410. Pre-game radio coverage on WVMT 620-AM begins at 6:30 p.m. with Alastair Ingram and Tom Child '04 on the call, and free video, audio, and live stats are all available via CatamounTV.com at the links below. 

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

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SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
UNH is off to its best start in 14 years at 5-1-0 and is 2-0-0 in league play after a home-and-home sweep of UMass Lowell during the opening weekend of the season.

The Wildcats have out-scored their opponents 24-12 and are led by rookie defenseman Max Gildon, who is tied for first nationally with six goals, including a hat trick last Friday vs. Colorado College. Danny Tirone has started every game in net with a 2.00 goals against average and a .932 save percentage, both of which rank second overall in Hockey East this year.

UNH ranks 12th in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll, its highest ranking in five seasons, and 14th in the USCHO.com poll. Dick Umile is in his 28th and final season at New Hampshire and has accumulated nearly 600 victories during his tenure

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 111th all-time meeting in the series, which dates all the way back to UVM's first varsity season in 1963. Vermont has faced New Hampshire more often than any other school, with St. Lawrence ranking second at 94 all-time meetings.

UVM has just two losses in its last 10 matchups against UNH, holding an overall record of 6-2-2 in that span. The last five meetings have been decided by just six goals. The Catamounts split a weekend series with the Wildcats at Gutterson in February, falling 4-2 before rebounding for a 5-3 win.

CATAMOUNT SPECIALIZATION
UVM currently ranks second nationally in combined special teams at 61.5 percent, trailing only Niagara. The Vermont penalty kill is 27-for-29 through the opening five games to rank fifth nationally. The unit had a streak of 36 consecutive kills last year which lasted three weeks.

After notching 16 total power play goals in all of 2015-16, UVM more than doubled that total last year with 35. The power play scored at least once in nearly two third's of the team's games last year and is clicking at nearly 22 percent this season by going 5-for-23.

HATS OFF FOR ROSS
Ross Colton posted the first Catamount hat trick in three years on Oct. 7 at Gutterson against Colorado College. It was the first UVM hat trick since Jonathan Turk netted three goals in the 2014-15 season opener on Oct. 11, 2014 at Northeastern and the first from a Catamount at home since Oct. 8, 2010.

Colton is one of only 11 players in Division I this season with at least five goals and is tied for 12th nationally in goals per game. The sophomore is also tied for fourth in the nation in power play goals with three in his first six contests.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Over the last two weeks, two Catamounts have scored their first career goals in their home state. Rochester, New York native Max Kaufman netted his first goal on Oct. 15 at Union, where his younger brother Jack plays lacrosse. Last Saturday, Michigan native Drew Best tallied his first collegiate goal just minutes from his hometown of Plymouth. Best skated on the same line with Kaufman, who also scored shorthanded the same night. 

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont hits the road next weekend for a two-game Hockey East series against UConn on Friday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m. and Saturday (Nov. 4) at 3:30 p.m. from the XL Center.

Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2017-18 men's hockey season