FINAL SCORE: Vermont 2, Merrimack 1
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – A pair of second period goals from Alex Esposito and Ross Colton lifted the Catamounts back from 1-0 down for a 2-1 Hockey East victory over the Merrimack Warriors on Friday night at Lawler Rink.
 
The victory gave UVM its first back-to-back wins of the season as the Cats improved to 6-15-4 (3-9-3 HEA), while Merrimack dropped to 7-14-4 (4-10-2 HEA) with its third straight defeat. Vermont nows trails MC by just one point in the league standings with a game in hand. 
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
 
"It was as real gritty 60-minute performance, a real complete game for us," head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "The guys understood what kind of game it would be and we took advantage of a couple of opportunities. They play hard and physical and we matched that fairly well tonight for a young team. Every shot in this building is a good shot but we blocked a fair number of shots and we pressured when we had the forecheck." 

The Warriors went on the offensive early, registering the first quality scoring chance of the game when Ludvig Larsson sauced a pass to Cole McBride on a 2-on-1 rush, but Stefanos Lekkas (23 saves) kicked the attempt away.
 
Brett Seney found the back of the net minutes later to open the scoring for Merrimack before the midway point of the first period. Jared Kolquist handled the puck at the top of the Catamounts' zone on the power play and dished a pass to Seney, who walked to the left dot before beating Lekkas high short-side for his team-leading ninth goal of the season. Sami Tavernier was credited with the secondary assist.
 
Vermont almost tied the game when Colton neared the Warriors' net on a breakaway, but Craig Pantano (32 saves) got a glove on the puck to halt the equalizing attempt with 5:30 left in the opening 20 minutes. The Catamounts entered the first intermission down a goal despite a 15-8 shot advantage.
 
UVM was finally rewarded when Esposito tied the game on a transition rush at 4:56 of the second period for his seventh of the season. Colton started the play as he entered the Warriors' zone and dropped the puck to Christian Evers, who sent a seam pass to Esposito at the right doorstep for a one-timer over the glove of Pantano.
 
The Catamounts continued to push the pace, leading to Colton's team-leading 13th goal of the year on a breakaway with 2:10 left in the middle frame. Matt Alvaro dished a pass to spring Colton as he closed in on net, faked to his backhand, and tucked the puck across the goal line around Pantano's right pad.

Esposito registered the secondary assist on the go-ahead goal, and Vermont entered intermission with a 2-1 cushion and a 27-11 edge in shots. The Esposito-Colton-Alvaro line combined for five of the team's six points on the night. 
 
Merrimack fought back in the third period with several opportunities to knot the game up at two. The most notable chance came just over the midway point of the final 20 minutes when Derek Petti sent a pass to McBride on a 2-on-1 rush, but Lekkas slid across to make the save at his right post. Petti led another opportunity minutes later while shorthanded, but Lekkas came out aggressively to deny a pair of quality chances. 
 
The Warriors called their timeout and pulled Pantano for an extra attacker in the final two minutes of regulation. On the game's second-to-last shift, the Catamounts blocked a center point one-timer and denied a centering pass, keeping the Warriors to the perimeter. Merrimack missed the net on its final two outside attempts, and UVM cleared the puck to seal the two points. 

With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate another $100 to the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington, bringing this year's total to 80 wins and $8,000.
 
Vermont returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 27) to close out the weekend series at Merrimack live on NESN at 7 p.m.
 
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2017-18 men's hockey season