FINAL SCORE: Vermont 2, Merrimack 1 (OT)
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – For the second straight night, Vermont's top line of Matt Alvaro, Ross Colton, and Alex Esposito carried the scoring load, powering the Catamounts to a 2-1 overtime victory over Merrimack for a two-game Hockey East sweep at Lawler Rink.
 
UVM extended its winning streak to three games and improved to 7-15-4 (4-9-3 HEA), while Merrimack (7-15-4, 4-11-2 HEA) dropped its fourth straight contest. With the win, the Catamounts moved past Merrimack in the Hockey East standings into a three-way tie for eighth with UMass and UNH.
 
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Alvaro, Colton, and Esposito combined for all six points on Saturday and all but one of the team's 12 points in the series. Colton registered the game-winning tally for the second straight game and joined Esposito with a four-point weekend.
 
Stefanos Lekkas stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced for his 25th career victory, closing the series with a .962 save percentage to push his personal winning streak to three.
 
"We knew they would come out and put on a big push," said head coach Kevin Sneddon. "They played better than last night and we expected that. In this building we found ways to do things. We had great goaltending, our young defensemen battled extremely well and we got a huge goal at the right time."
 
Jace Hennig's power play goal gave Merrimack the lead seven minutes into the first period. Cory Thomas hauled down Mathieu Tibbet from behind on a partial breakaway, but the Warriors declined a penalty shot and deferred to a power play. Brett Seney skated into the left circle and fed a pass to the top of the crease for Hennig, who followed an initial save from Lekkas and buried the rebound for his ninth of the year.
 
Alvaro finally answered for the Catamounts just past the midway point of the game from a similar net-front location. Colton's outside drive came off the end boards and Esposito was denied by Craig Pantano (27 saves) at the right doorstep, but Alvaro located the puck on the edge of the crease and tied the game as he fell to the ice.
 
With under two minutes left in overtime, Lekkas made a key right pad save on a streaking Cole McBride, who was bearing down on goal with Owen Grant defending.
 
Roughly a minute later, Esposito cut above the left goal line and wheeled a shot on target. Colton was camped out in front of Pantano, and the puck glanced off his skate and trickled through the junior's pads to clinch all four points on Colton's 14th goal. The play was briefly reviewed on video but the call on the ice stood. 
 
"It was an awesome play by Esposito to cut back and put it on net, and Ross was screening the goalie," said Sneddon of the game-winning sequence.

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 83 wins and $8,300.

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