MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Vermont closes a four-game homestand at Gutterson Fieldhouse this weekend as it squares off against the UMass Lowell River Hawks for the second time in three weeks. Faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 19) and Saturday (Jan. 20).

Tickets are available by logging on to UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by calling 802-656-4410. Pre-game radio coverage on WVMT 620-AM and CatamounTV.com begins at 6:30 p.m. each night with Alastair Ingram on the call. Free video and live stats are available via CatamounTV.com at the links below.

Friday is TD Bank Night, while Saturday is Handy Toyota Night with fan giveaways at Gutterson.

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

RALLY AROUND MENTAL HEALTH | Support Rally Around Mental Health
The Rally Around Mental Health initiative will be highlighted at Friday's game with T-shirts for the first 500 fans. Rally Around Mental Health was founded by senior student-athletes Kelly Lennon (women's swimming & diving) and Trae Bell-Haynes (men's basketball) to raise awareness and decrease the stigma for mental health issues among student-athletes. RAMH also laid the foundation for Catamount Sport Psychology and Counseling (CSPC), which provides a wide range of sport psychology and mental health services for UVM student-athletes, coaches, and staff. Click the link above to donate to the initiative. 

STALBERG TO SOUTH KOREA
Former UVM men's hockey forward Viktor Stalberg '09 has been named to the Swedish National Team for the upcoming Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Stalberg will compete in his first-ever Olympics, joining Ryan Gunderson '07 and Amanda Pelkey '15 of Team USA. Stalberg and Gunderson will become the sixth and seventh former men's hockey players to compete in the Winter Olympics, where UVM has been represented in ice hockey at every Games since 1998.

Stalberg is currently playing for EV Zug in the Swiss National League, where he ranks fifth in the league with 41 points in 35 games this season. Stalberg was previously selected to Team Sweden for the 2012 IIHF World Championship. The forward spent parts of eight seasons in the NHL, skating in nearly 500 games with six different teams, and won the 2013 Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks. 

During his junior year at Vermont, Stalberg was a First Team All-American and finalist for the Hobey Baker Award with 24 goals and 22 assists, leading the Catamounts to the 2009 Frozen Four. Sweden begins Preliminary Round competition against Germany on Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:10 a.m. (ET). The United States opens two days prior against Slovenia at 7:10 a.m. (ET) on Wednesday, Feb. 14. 

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
UMass Lowell has won four of its six games since the semester break, including a home win against Vermont on Jan. 5. The River Hawks split a road series out west at Arizona State last weekend with a 4-0 win on Friday and a 4-0 loss on Saturday. UML is tied for fourth in the Hockey East standings at 8-6-0 for 16 points. 

Sophomore forward Kenny Hausinger leads the River Hawks with nine goals, while classmate and assistant captain Ryan Lohin has tallied a team-high 13 assists and 20 points. Junior Christoffer Hernberg has secured the starting role in net, going 12-4-0 in his 16 starts with a 2.01 goals against average and .923 save percentage.

Norm Bazin '94 is in his seventh year coaching his alma mater and has led UMass Lowell to five consecutive Hockey East Title Game appearances. Last year, Lowell defeated Boston College 4-3 to win the Hockey East Championship before losing in overtime to Notre Dame in the NCAA Northeast Regional Final.

SERIES HISTORY
Vermont enters the 51st meeting of the all-time series with an overall record of 16-27-7 and an 8-12-4 mark at home. The last three meetings have all taken place at Tsongas Center. The last UVM victory over the River Hawks came on Mar. 15, 2014 in Game 2 of the Hockey East Quarterfinals in Lowell. Mario Puskarich '17 clinched the game with a goal in overtime while Brody Hoffman '15 stopped 36 shots.

SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST
Ross Colton and Matt O'Donnell are two of only four Hockey East skaters with at least five goals in the third period this season. O'Donnell leads all defensemen in that category as all five of his tallies have come in the final frame. Meanwhile, Colton is tied for the national lead with four power play goals scored in the third period.

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont hits the road next weekend for a two-game series against Merrimack at Lawler Rink on Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27. Both games begin at 7 p.m., and the Saturday game will be televised live on NESN.

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