MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
6-seed Vermont will host 11-seed Maine in a best-of-three Hockey East First Round playoff series this weekend (March 3-5) at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Games 1 and 2 begin at 7:05 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night, while Game 3 (if necessary) begins at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. To secure your playoff seats, log on to UVMathletics.com/Tickets.

Live video of the series is available on a pay-per-view basis through HockeyEastOnline.TV. Single games are $9.95 and a tournament package is available for $59.95. Pre-game radio coverage begins 30 minutes prior to each game on WVMT 620-AM and UVMathletics.com/Listen with Alastair Ingram on the call.  

HOCKEY EAST FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday, March 3, 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, March 4, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, March 5, 4:05 p.m. (if necessary)

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

SENIOR WEEKEND SPLIT
The Catamounts used 27 saves from Stefanos Lekkas and a strong third period to snap Merrimack's eight-game unbeaten streak in a 3-1 victory last Friday night to open a two-game series. Ross Colton (11) and Brian Bowen (12) had power play goals, while Craig Puffer (9) added an insurance goal in the third period. Brett Seney's top shelf backhander with 6:28 left in the third on Saturday held up as the game-winner as the Warriors responded with a 3-2 win on Vermont's Senior Night to earn a split. Jarrid Privitera and Brady Shaw had the goals for the Catamounts, who out-shot Merrimack 33-23 on the night. UVM closed the weekend 3-for-6 on the power play.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP
The Catamounts registered their highest regular season league finish (sixth) since 2009 when they were tied for third. Vermont posted double-digit Hockey East wins for the third time in the last four seasons, doing so for the first time since winning double-digit league games five straight years from 2005-09. UVM went 8-3-1 vs. the bottom six teams and 2-5-3 vs. the top five in the league. The Catamounts faced a ranked team 16 times and posted a 6-6-4 record in those matchups. Vermont had a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) and a five-game winning streak during the regular season.

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
Maine is 1-6-1 in its last eight games but its last four contests have been decided by a total of just three goals. The Black Bears took Merrimack to overtime twice two weekends ago and then split a home series with Northeastern to close the regular season, falling 5-4 in OT before winning 5-4 on Saturday. Senior Blaine Byron leads the squad with 18 goals and 40 points, while fellow senior Cam Brown has tallied a team-high 34 assists.

Sean McGovern has started 27 of 34 games in net with a 2.94 goals against average and .914 save percentage on the year. Former BFA St. Albans High School coach Red Gendron is in his fourth year as the head coach in Orono.

SERIES HISTORY
Game 1 marks the 57th meeting of the all-time series and the schools' second First Round matchup at the Gut in the last three seasons. Vermont took three of four points from Maine at Gutterson back in November with a 6-2 victory and 2-2 come-from-behind tie. The Catamounts were swept in Orono in November of 2015 after going 9-1-0 in their previous 10 games against the Black Bears, which included a series-high eight-game winning streak.

UVM defeated Maine in a thrilling three-game First Round series in 2015, taking Game 3 by a 3-2 final in overtime as forward Jonathan Turk scored the OT game-winner with 3:55 remaining. The Game 2 loss was Vemont's first defeat to Maine in Burlington since Dec. 3, 2011 to snap a six-game home win streak.

WHO'S NEXT
If Vermont advances past Maine, the best-of-three Hockey East Quarterfinals await the Catamounts on the road on March 10-12 at either 3-seed Boston College or 4-seed Notre Dame.

Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 men's hockey season