MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Vermont will close the month of January with a Hockey East weekend series against the Merrimack Warriors on Friday (Jan. 26) and Saturday (Jan. 27) at Lawler Rink. The puck drops each night at 7 p.m. in North Andover, and the Saturday matchup will be televised live on NESN. Pre-game radio coverage on WVMT 620-AM and CatamounTV.com begins at 6:30 p.m. prior to both games with Alastair Ingram on the call. Pay-per-view video on Friday is available via MerrimackAthletics.com at the link below. 

RELATED LINKS
Friday 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. Tonight's episode airs with Sneddon and Hockey East Player of the Week Liam Coughlin 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.

UMASS LOWELL RECAP
Vermont split a weekend series with the UMass Lowell River Hawks at Gutterson Fieldhouse last Friday and Saturday in Burlington. UVM jumped out to a two-goal lead the opening night, but a third period rally helped Lowell tie and clinch the game 3-2 in overtime. Jake Massie recorded his first collegiate goal at 11:58 in the first period to give Vermont the early lead.

The following night, the Cats took a commanding 4-0 lead over the midway point of the second period. UMass Lowell battled back with three straight, but Ross Colton netted a key insurance goal on a breakaway to put UVM up 5-3. Liam Coughlin capped off his first career hat trick with an empty-netter to seal a 6-3 victory and a team season-high in goals.

Alex Esposito posted a career-high three points on a goal and two assists in the victory, while Massie, Owen Grant, and Matt Alvaro each chipped in a pair of assists. Vermont snapped its seven-game losing streak against the River Hawks and a nine-game winless streak overall (0-6-3).

COUGH THE CHARTS
Liam Coughlin was named the Hockey East Player of the Week on Monday following his first career hat trick. Coughlin, who entered the weekend with one goal, posted a four-goal series against UMass Lowell and is now tied for third on the team in that category with five. The junior's hat trick was the second by a Catamount this season at Gutterson Fieldhouse, following Colton's against Colorado College during the first weekend of the season in October.

BLOCK FORT
The Catamounts blocked 38 shots last weekend against UMass Lowell, registering a season-high 24 blocks on Friday night. Vermont ranks third in Hockey East as a team in both total blocks (324) and blocks per contest (13.5). Massie is tied for second individually in blocks with 45, while Matt O'Donnell is tied for 20th with 33 blocks. Massie is also tied for 25th nationally in shot blocking.

MILESTONE WATCH
Senior captain Rob Darrar skated in his 100th career game last Saturday night against UMass Lowell. Trey Phillips is three away from 100 career contests, while fellow senior Anthony Petruzzelli is one short of both 20 goals and 20 assists. Colton's next goal will be his 25th, and Stefanos Lekkas is two wins away from number 25.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Merrimack enters the series with a 5-4-1 record in its last 10 games, including a 3-2 victory at No. 2 Denver. The Warriors dropped a pair of games last weekend in a tight home-and-home series with Boston University. Merrimack is one spot ahead of the Catamounts in the Hockey East standings with a 4-9-2 record for 10 points.

New Jersey Devils prospect Brett Seney paces the offense in goals (8), assists (14), points (22), and plus/minus (+8). Junior Craig Pantano has secured the starting role in net, going 7-7-2 in his 17 starts with a 2.37 goals against average and .914 save percentage. The Warrior power play is clicking at 21% to rank third in Hockey East this season. 

Mark Dennehy is in his 13th season coaching MC and has led the Warriors to consecutive home-ice appearances in the first round of the Hockey East Tournament for the first time in program history. Merrimack associate head coach Bill Gilligan is the brother of longtime UVM head coach Mike Gilligan. Last year, the Warriors finished 15-16-6 and were ousted by New Hampshire in three games in the Hockey East First Round.

SERIES HISTORY
Vermont enters the 40th and 41st meetings of the all-time series with an overall record of 14-17-8 and a 5-8-4 mark on the road. The Catamounts have split the last 10 contests (4-4-2) against Merrimack, dating back to Oct. 27, 2012.

Vermont secured a 3-1 victory to open Senior Weekend last season at Gutterson as Lekkas stopped 27 of 28 shots. Seney scored late in the third period to push the Warriors over UVM 3-2 on Senior Night to close the weekend.

UVM's last victories at Lawler Rink came during a weekend sweep of the Warriors back in February of 2014.

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont returns to Gutterson Fieldhouse next weekend to host 10th-ranked Providence on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available by logging on to UVMathletics.com/Tickets or by calling 802-656-4410. Saturday is the annual Skating Strides Against Cancer Game presented by Otter Creek Awnings and Vermont Custom Closets.

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