FINAL SCORE: #17 Vermont 10, Quinnipiac 5
HAMDEN, Conn. – Rob Hudson tallied a career high five points and Nick Washuta stopped a season-high 15 shots as the 17th-ranked Catamounts defeated the Quinnipiac Bobcats 10-5 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Vermont improves to 5-0 on the season while Quinnipiac falls to 1-2. Neither team has begun conference play.
 
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"I am pleased we were able to pull out a victory against a very physical Quinnipiac team today," head coach Chris Feifs said. "Washuta was fantastic between the pipes. However, our level of execution in special teams was not up to our team standards. Having a great week of practice is vital if we want to compete against a highly skilled Jacksonville team next Saturday."
 
Braiden Davis opened the afternoon's scoring 8:22 into the first quarter. Hudson found the junior near the Bobcat cage for the goal during a 30-second man-up opportunity.
 
Hudson found the back of the net about four minutes later off a feed from Dawes Milchling. Hudson's goal came a man-up as the returning Bobcat did not reach the play before the goal.
 
Charlie Erdmann won the ensuing draw and Charlie Cobb put his name on the scoresheet with 1:35 to play in the opening quarter. Erdmann finished the game 7-for-14 in the X.

The Catamounts continued the scoring in the second quarter as Ben French received a pass in front of the net from Hudson and buried the ball past goaltender Joe Zukauskas to push the lead to 4-0 with 12:54 to play in the half.
 
Less than two minutes later, Milchling found the back of the net for his second point off a pass from Ian MacKay.
 
Jake Tomsik put the Bobcats on the board with 8:28 to play in the half. The goal ended a 58:35 scoreless streak held by Washuta and the Catamount defense.
 
Milchling responded to the Bobcat goal four minutes later with his second of the game. The unassisted tally marked Milchling's fifth of the season.
 
QU cut the lead to 6-2 on the advantage following a cross-checking call against Warren Jeffrey. Foster Cuomo scored an unassisted goal with 3:13 remaining.
 
Hudson scored his second of the game with 1:38 to play in the opening half. He came down the middle of the field with speed and rifled a shot through the five-hole of Zukauskas to push the lead to 7-2.
 
Vermont took a five goal lead into the half. Washuta made six saves in the opening half while Zukauskas tallied four saves.
 
Brian Feldman scored his 99th career goal 1:40 into the third quarter to cut the Vermont lead to four. QU scored on the man-up opportunity following an offside call against Davis.
 
After two penalties called simultaneously against the Bobcats gave Vermont a two-man advantage, French scored his second of the game 4:45 into the third quarter to push the UVM lead back to five at 8-3.
 
MacKay scored his first goal of the game as time expired in the third to push Vermont's lead to six. Washuta tallied nine saves for the Catamounts while Zukauskas had 10 through three quarters. With his two points, MacKay extended his point streak to 50 consecutive games. His current goal streak is 10 games.
 
Quinnipiac scored a pair of goals in a 50 second span beginning with 11:53 to play. Matt Frost scored a man-up goal to cut the lead to five and Tomsik added his second of the game with 11:03 remaining to cut the Catamount lead to four.
 
Liam Limoges sealed the win for the Catamounts with his first of the game with 1:45 remaining. Milchling carried the ball towards the net from behind the cage and drew the defender towards him before dishing to Limoges for the wide open goal.
 
A pair of Quinnipiac penalties in the waning moments of the game kept Vermont in possession and the game ended with a 10-5 final.
 
Washuta finished the game and earned his fifth win of the year with a season-high 15 saves. Zukauskas tallied 12 saves for the Bobcats in the loss.
 
UVM held a 23-20 advantage in shots on goal while both teams scooped 24 ground balls. The Catamounts were 3-for-8 in man-up situations while the Bobcats went 3-for-4 in the game.

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 103 wins and $10,300.
 
The Catamounts head to Severn, Maryland for a neutral site game against Jacksonville University next Saturday, March 3. The game is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at Archbishop Spaulding High School.