WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Currently in a tie for fourth place in Hockey East, Vermont (12-11-9, 8-7-7 WHEA) welcomes Merrimack to Gutterson Fieldhouse this Friday and Saturday (Feb. 17-18). In conjunction with Friday's 7 p.m. puck drop the Catamounts will host their annual Skating Strides Rally Against Cancer Game, presented by Otter Creek Awnings & Vermont Custom Closets. Prior to Saturday's 4 p.m. game, UVM will celebrate Senior Day and recognize its seven members of the Class of 2017.
 
Rob Ryan will oversee the play-by-play in both games on CatamounTV.com, while fans unable to make it to Burlington also can follow along with live stats through SIDEARM Stats. Both are free of charge.
 
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GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS–FRIDAY
Skating Strides Rally Against Cancer presented by Otter Creek Awnings & Vermont Custom Closets: UVM and Hockey East will continue to raise awareness for cancer research through its annual Skating Strides Rally Against Cancer initiative, presented by Otter Creek Awnings and Vermont Custom Closets. Be sure to join the Catamounts in wearing pink to the game to show your support. UVM's game-worn jerseys are currently up for auction and can be bid on by clicking here. Bidding concludes 24 hours after puck drop, with proceeds being donated to the University of Vermont Cancer Center.
 
Bertagna Trophy: The Bertagna Trophy, awarded to the Women's Hockey East Tournament Champion, will be in Burlington on Friday night for fans to take photos. The trophy will be on display in the UVM Hockey Hall of Honor on the second level of Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
CATAMOUNTS TO HOST SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
Fans are encouraged to join us early on Saturday as the Catamounts will recognize their seven-member senior class in a pregame ceremony. The group, which includes Rachael Ade, Victoria Andreakos, Bridget Baker, Cassidy Campeau, Sarah Kelly, Casey Leveillee and Madison Litchfield, has captured a program-record 54 wins together over the last four seasons. That includes 33 victories against Hockey East opponents, which also stands as a program record.

Ade and Kelly have served as tri-captains this season along with junior Taylor Willard.
 
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PLAYOFF PICTURE
Vermont heads into the final weekend of the regular season with 23 points in the Hockey East standings, sharing fourth place with Providence. Boston University sits just ahead with 24, while Connecticut and New Hampshire are in a tie for sixth place with 20 points. If UVM finishes third or fourth, the Catamounts will host the No. 6 or No. 5 seed, respectively, in a best-of-three Hockey East Quarterfinal series.
 
BU closes out the regular season at home against Northeastern and Maine, while Providence has a home-and-home with No. 6 Boston College. UConn and UNH will also meet up in Storrs, Connecticut this weekend.
 
Although the Catamounts have the tiebreaker on BU by virtue of the head-to-head advantage, Providence won the regular season series with UVM, giving the Friars the upper hand in the event of a tie.
 
CATAMOUNTS RECAP
The Merrimack series this weekend marks a return to Gutterson Fieldhouse for the Catamounts, who were most recently on home ice last Friday (Feb. 10). Madison Litchfield amassed a season-high 38 saves, but Providence's Meaghan Rickard lit the lamp with just six tenths of a second remaining in regulation to send the teams to a 2-2 draw. UVM proceeded outshoot the Friars 5-1 in overtime but could not beat goalie Madison Myers.
 
Vermont then headed down to BC for a Sunday (Feb. 12) tilt, but was unable to recover from a fast start by the Eagles that resulted in a four-goal first period at Conte Forum.
 
SCOUTING MERRIMACK
The Warriors currently are battling with Maine for the final playoff spot in Hockey East, posting a 10-19-3 mark overall and 6-16-0 record in league play. Nevertheless, Merrimack already has doubled its win total from its first season of competition a year ago, when the squad finished 5-26-3 and 3-18-3.
 
Merrimack jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Providence in the team's most recent action last Sunday (Feb. 12), but the Friars stormed back with a three-goal third period. The rally included a pair in just over two minutes midway through the stanza and culminated with 1:08 left in regulation as Madison Sansone found the back of the net with Myers pulled. Providence then netted the game-winner 1:53 into overtime.
 
For the Warriors, freshman Mikyla Grant-Mentis (9-16-25) and sophomore Katelyn Rae (17-6-23) head up the offense, while rookie Léa-Kristine Demers has seen the majority of time in goal en route to a 2.90 goals against average. The Catamounts, however, have faced Samantha Ridgewell between the pipes in each of the sides' four matchups. She boasts a .951 save percentage against UVM.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
The Green and Gold have not yet pocketed a win against Merrimack. Last season, the Catamounts were dealt two 2-1 setbacks, including one in overtime, before skating to a 3-3 tie in the regular season finale down in Massachusetts. UVM was also handed an overtime defeat at the hands of the Warriors earlier this season.
 
LAST TIME AROUND
Merrimack eked out a 2-1 decision in overtime in the most recent meeting of the sides, a January 3 matchup at Lawler Rink. Melissa Black turned in 24 saves in the effort but Madison Morey scored for the Warriors just 54 seconds into the extra session to lift her team to the win.
 
UVM's lone goal came midway through the second period. Taylor Willard found Mackenzie MacNeil in the right faceoff circle as the junior skated into the right corner. She then wristed the puck towards goal where Ève-Audrey Picard redirected the feed past Ridgewell at 13:34, collecting her seventh goal of the year.
 
COMING TO YOUR 'ADE'
Senior defenseman Rachael Ade has lit the lamp in two of her last three games, having scored against Providence (Feb. 10) and New Hampshire (Feb. 4). In the UNH contest, the Davenport, Florida product gave the Catamounts a 2-0 lead in the middle stanza with what ultimately turned out to be the game-winning goal. Her 12 points on the season are a career-high.
 
Additionally, Ade's two assists on Friday, Feb. 3 marked her second multi-point game of the season and fourth of her career. Those two helpers came in a span of just 48 seconds as UVM jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead on UNH.
 
KOLOWRAT RECOGNIZED AT OLYMPIC QUALIFIER
Representing the Czech Republic, sophomore Sammy Kolowrat was recognized last Sunday as the Most Outstanding Defenseman at the conclusion of the Group C Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Lacing up in all three games of the round-robin, Kolowrat notched a goal and helped the Czechs to wins over Norway (Feb. 9, 5-0) and Denmark (Feb. 11, 4-3) before falling to Switzerland on Sunday (Feb. 12) by a 4-1 score.
 
I'M HAVIN' A RECORD YEAR
Senior and native Vermonter Madison Litchfield made UVM history on Saturday, Feb. 4, as the Williston product inked her 29th career win with the Green and Gold to gain sole possession of first place in that category in program history. The victory lifted her past Tiffany Hayes (1999-2003), who recorded 28 during her time in Burlington.
 
On January 27, Litchfield earned her 28th career win to surpass former teammate Roxanne Douville for the top spot in the Division I era (since 2001) of UVM women's hockey. With 2,086 saves in her career, she ranks fourth all-time behind Douville, who turned aside 2,956 pucks from 2010-14.
 
PLAYING YOUR CARDS RIGHT
Freshman Ève-Audrey Picard continues to serve as one of several offensive spark plugs for the Catamounts, boasting an 11-11-22 line on the season. She ranks seventh among Hockey East rookies with 0.69 points per game and sits in share of fifth in the same category (0.68) specifically in conference play.
 
With two goals and three assists, the native of Longueuil, Quebec has marked the scoresheet in four of her last six games.
 
COME ONE, COME ALL
On Friday, Feb. 3, the Catamounts hosted New Hampshire in front of a Hockey East regular season record crowd of 2,136. That game was played in conjunction with the 4th annual Pack The Gut Challenge presented by The Windjammer Restaurant and Upper Deck Pub and broke the previous league record, which was also held by Vermont. In the first Pack The Gut in 2013-14, UVM drew 2,028 fans to watch the Green and Gold battle Boston College.
 
CATAMOUNTS FEATURED BY USCHO
USCHO columnist Nicole Haase profiled the Catamounts recently, discussing the team's success of late and the steps taken to reach its current stage. Click here to read the story.
 
The Windjammer Restaurant and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 women's hockey season