WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts take a trip to Orono for a two-game Hockey East series against the Maine Black Bears. UVM plays its final games of the first semester on Friday (Dec. 6) at 6 p.m. and Saturday (Dec. 7) at 2 p.m. Both contests will be played at Alfond Arena.
 
RELATED LINKS
Friday (Dec. 6): Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes (.pdf)
Saturday (Dec. 7): Watch | Live Stats
 
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
Maine enters the series with a 7-7-2 (4-5-1 HEAW) mark after splitting a two-game series at Dartmouth last weekend. The Black Bears won the first game 6-1, but fell to the Big Green 5-2 a day later. Maine has a 2-3-0 record in its last five games, which includes an overtime victory over No. 4 Northeastern.
 
Senior Tereza Vanišová paces the Maine offense with team-highs in goals (9), assists (10), points (19), and shots on goal (55). Vanišová has accrued 117 points in 110 career games and is currently sixth in Hockey East scoring.
 
Carly Jackson has seen the majority of playing time in net with a .921 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average in 11 games. Junior Loryn Porter has seven starts for the Black Bears and has posted a .919 save percentage and 2.22 goals against average.   

INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's game will mark the 54th all-time meeting between the Catamounts and the Black Bears. Vermont has a 17-27-9 record in the series, but owns a 5-3-2 mark in the last 10 meetings. In UVM's last five trips to Orono, the Cats are 2-1-2 with a pair of 2-2 ties in their most recent games.
 
The conference foes went 1-1-1 against each other last season with Vermont getting the crucial tie in the final game of the regular season. UVM clinched the final Hockey East playoff berth and ended the Black Bears' season with the 2-2 tie at Alfond Arena.
 
LAST TIME AT ALFOND
Vermont and Maine battled for the final Hockey East playoff spot in last year's regular season finale. The Catamounts needed a win or a tie to secure a berth in the postseason while the Black Bears had to win.
 
Maine took an early 1-0 lead, but Sammy Kolowrat's shot from the point tied the game before the first intermission. Ève-Audrey Picard took a 2-1 lead for the Cats in the middle frame, but Brittany Colton knotted the game for the Black Bears. Blanka Škodová  (24 saves) held off a late Maine push, which included three shots in overtime, to secure the tie. Škodová was later named Hockey East Co-Rookie of the Week for her play in net.
 
HELPING HAND
Sini Karjalainen has had the helping hand for the Catamounts this year with a team-high 13 assists and 16 points. The sophomore's assist total is the third-highest by a defenseman in the country and leads all Hockey East blueliners. Karjalainen has the most points by a Hockey East defender and the fifth-most points by a Division-I defenseman.
 
SIX SECONDS
Theresa Schafzahl registered the fastest goal in Vermont women's hockey history on Sunday (Nov. 24) against Boston University. The sophomore collected a faceoff win from Ève-Audrey Picard and notched her fourth goal of the season just six seconds after the opening puck drop. The previous fastest goal in program history came when Amanda Pelkey '15 scored 19 seconds into the Catamounts win over Union on October 24, 2014.

The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2019-20 women's hockey season