FINAL SCORE: Vermont 2, UMass 2
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Third period goals from sophomores Derek Lodermeier and Matt O'Donnell helped the Catamounts force a 2-2 tie against the UMass Minutemen on Friday night to open a four-game homestand at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
With the tie, Vermont moves to 4-13-4 (1-7-3 HEA) on the season, while the Minutemen push their record to to 9-9-1 (3-5-1 HEA). UVM extends its unbeaten streak against Massachusetts to 11 games (9-0-2) after Friday's 70th all-time meeting.
 
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"We're all chasing wins," said head coach Kevin Sneddon. "I was just impressed with our compete level tonight and how hard and relentless we were after loose pucks, just a lot of the little things, winning the 1-on-1 battles in the corners. Bottom line I thought in all three zones it was certainly one of our better games."

UMass opened the scoring on a power play goal by Cale Makar at 3:16 of the first period. The Minutemen established possession in the Vermont zone with the freshman defenseman leading the way. Makar received a pass from Oliver Chau and dealt the puck to Mario Ferraro along the blue line. Ferraro returned a pass to Makar, who quickly fired a wrist shot past a screened Stefanos Lekkas (27 saves).
 
The Catamounts had their share of opportunities to tie the game later in the period as they earned three power play opportunities, but were unable to convert on the man-advantages.
 
Vermont contributed the majority of the offense and zone time in the second period, outshooting the Minutemen 11-4 in a scoreless middle frame. Lekkas also made a highlight reel glove save on Philip Lagunov, robbing the freshman center at the right doorstep point blank, to keep his team down just one after 40 minutes. 
 
The Catamounts finally tied the game at 3:14 in the third period on an unassisted goal by Lodermeier for his first of the season. A miscue in the neutral zone by UMass allowed Lodermeier to spring into the offensive zone on a breakaway before snapping a shot below the blocker of rookie Matt Murray (31 saves).
 
UMass took back the lead with 4:38 left in regulation when John Leonard fired a shot over the glove of Lekkas off a 1-on-1 rush. Niko Hildenbrand assisted on the go-ahead goal.
 
O'Donnell answered 23 seconds later for the Catamounts as he buried a rebound in front of the UMass goal to force overtime. Lodermeier started the play with the puck in the corner before passing to Conor O'Neil on the doorstep. The puck trickled off the pads of Murray before O'Donnell knocked it home near the right post for his fifth goal of the year, all of which have come in the third period. 
 
Vermont out-shot the Minutemen 2-1 in a scoreless overtime and had the session's best chance, but Jake Massie's one-timer from the slot missed the net high. Makar and Ross Colton tied the game-high with seven shots each. 
 
UVM returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 13) for game two of the weekend series against UMass at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Saturday at Gutterson is UVM Alumni Night presented by the UVM Alumni Association. The UVM Alumni Association invites all alumni, parents and friends to join us before the game for a family friendly reception at the UVM Alumni House from 4:30-6 p.m. Light appetizers and a cash beer/wine bar will be provided. Plan ahead, park at the Gutterson garage and hop on the UVM shuttle to the Alumni House. The bus will be looping regularly starting at 4:15 p.m. from outside of Patrick Gym.
 
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2017-18 men's hockey season