MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Vermont continues Hockey East play this weekend with a two-game series against UConn at the XL Center on Friday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m. and Saturday (Nov. 4) at 3:30 p.m. Pre-game radio coverage begins 30 minutes before faceoff on WVMT 620-AM and CatamounTV.com with Alastair Ingram on the call. Pay-per-view video and live stats are available via UConnHuskies.com at the links below. 

RELATED LINKS
Video ($) | Audio | Live Stats | CatamounTV Preview | Game Notes (.pdf)

COACHES SHOW PRESENTED BY MILTON CAT
The Kevin Sneddon Coaches Show Presented by Milton Cat airs every Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. this season on the flagship station for Catamount men's hockey, WVMT 620-AM. This week's show airs tonight with Sneddon and sophomore defenseman Matt O'Donnell in Chat With The Cats. Eighth-year radio play-by-play voice Alastair Ingram serves as the host of the weekly show throughout the season.

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UNH THRILLER | CatamounTV Highlights
Matt O'Donnell's two third period goals led the Catamounts' comeback to force a 4-4 tie against 12th-ranked New Hampshire last Saturday at Gutterson Fieldhouse in UVM's Hockey East opener. O'Donnell finished the night with a career-high three points, while Craig Puffer posted his sixth point in the last five games with a shorthanded goal in the third period off an O'Donnell assist.

O'Donnell's game-tying goal came on a 6-on-4 power play with just 34 seconds left in regulation, and Ross Colton hit the post early in overtime as UVM out-shot UNH 6-1 in the extra session. Matt Alvaro also netted his first goal of the year in the 4-4 tie. Vermont posted a season-high 45 shots on goal, including a 16-5 advantage in the first period.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
UConn was swept at Miami (OH) by the combined score of 10-1 last weekend and is riding a five-game winless streak (0-4-1). The Huskies are 1-2-1 in Hockey East play following a pair of games against both Maine and Boston University. 

Senior Johnny Austin leads the Huskies with eight assists and nine points, while sophomore Alexander Payusov has tallied a team-high six goals, including four on the power play. Payusov is tied for second in the nation in power play goals, and UConn is tied for 15th as a team at 26.5 percent. Adam Huska has started seven games in net with a 2-5-1 record, 3.48 goals against average, and .893 save percentage.

Former Boston College assistant Mike Cavanaugh is in his fifth season as the head coach of the program. Last year, the Huskies were swept by Northeastern in the Hockey East Opening Round and finished at 12-16-8 (8-10-4 HEA).

SERIES HISTORY
Friday will mark the 27th all-time meeting of the series, which dates back to the first year of the program in 1963. The Catamounts had a five-game series winning streak snapped last season with a 3-1 defeat at the XL Center on Jan. 27, 2017. Vermont won all four meetings two years ago by a total of just five goals, and included in those four games was a sweep in the best-of-three Hockey East Opening Round in Hartford.

Since UConn joined Hockey East prior to the 2014-15 season, the Huskies' only two wins over UVM have both come at the XL Center. Seven of the last nine meetings have been one-goal games, and four of the last eight matchups have been 2-1 final scores. UVM defeated UConn 5-4 at Gutterson last season. 

ODE TO ODIE
O'Donnell ranks second overall in Hockey East in goals by a defenseman with three, trailing only UNH's Max Gildon. All three of his goals have been timely, scoring the game-winner at Union on Oct. 15 and pulling the Catamounts even with UNH last Saturday with a pair in the third period. Among Hockey East blueliners, he is tied for eighth overall in scoring. O'Donnell has already matched his goal total from last season, after finishing his rookie campaign with three goals and 10 assists.

PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON
Puffer leads the team with six points, all of which have come in the junior's last five games. He is tied for 15th in Hockey East in goals per game thus far. With 11 goals and 19 points last season, Puffer nearly quadrupled his rookie goal total (3) and more than doubled his point total (9) from his rookie campaign. The Connecticut native ranked 11th in Hockey East in third period goals last year as seven of his 11 tallies came in the final frame.

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont returns to Gutterson Fieldhouse next weekend for a two-game series against Boston College. Friday, Nov. 10 is Xfinity Night as all fans in attendance will receive free thunder sticks, and Saturday, Nov. 11 is Military Appreciation Night Presented by Milton Cat. The team will wear special camouflage jerseys that will be auctioned off at UVMathletics.com/Auctions.

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