MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The 2020-21 men's hockey campaign under first year Head Coach Todd Woodcroft begins this weekend as the Catamounts travel to face No. 10/13 UMass (2-3-1) at the Mullins Center. Action is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and both games will be broadcast live on NESN.
 
Fans outside of New England will also be able to watch for free on CBS CollegeSportsLive. As always, the voice of the Catamounts, Michael Lehr, will air on WVMT (FM 96.3 / AM 620).
 
RELATED LINKS:
Watch (Outside of New England) | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes (.pdf) | Weekly Media Press Conference 
 
LUCAS NAMED SOPHOMORE CAPTAIN OF THE CATAMOUNTS
Defenseman Andrew Lucas is the 62nd captain in program history. He is also just the fourth sophomore captain in program history. Lucas joins Marshall Stevenson '66, Jaime Sifers '06 and H.T. Lenz '14 as sophomore captains of the Green & Gold. He skated in all 34 games last season as a freshman and led the team in scoring with 15 points.
 
DOVAR YOUNGEST PLAYER IN COLLEGE HOCKEY
2019-20 CCHL Rookie of the Year Dovar Tinling is the youngest player in college hockey at the age of 17. The next closest players are Michigan's Owen Power and Matty Beniers who are 18 and one month. At 17 he is the youngest Canadian NCAA player since Jonathan Toews and Simon Danis-Pepin dressed for North Dakota and Maine, respectively, in 2005-06.
 
In October Dovar was named to NHL Central Scouting's Preliminary Players to Watch List for the 2021 NHL Draft. He is currently ranked as a second or third round candidate.
 
BETWEEN THE PIPES
In net, the Catamounts will be looking to replace Stefanos Lekkas '20, who started 134 games for Vermont over the last four seasons, second-most in program history. Vermont has two seniors Tyler Harmon, Matt Beck and newcomer Gabe Carriere to fill the crease. Harmon is the only one to have seen regular season action. In six career games, Harmon holds a .919 save percentage and 2.24 goals against average.  
 
RANKED OPPONENTS ON THE ROAD
Saturday will mark the third straight time the Catamounts have opened their season on the road against a ranked opponent. Last season Clarkson defeated Vermont 3-2 on October 18, 2019. On October 6, 2018 Vermont upset No. 4 Michigan at Yost Arena 5-2 to open their campaign.
 
COACHING DEBUTS AT VERMONT
The fifth coach in program history Todd Woodcroft will be the first to coach his first game for the green and gold on the road. Bill Ruffer (1963), Jim Cross (1965), Mike Gilligan (1984), and Kevin Sneddon (2003) all started their careers with a home game. Overall the Catamounts are 1-3 in their first games with a new head coach with the lone win coming in an 8-0 decision over MIT under Coach Ruffer in 1963.
 
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
UMass is 2-3-1 to start the season having dropped two one-goal decisions on the road at Boston College and Merrimack. The 3-2 loss at Merrimack was the Minutemen's last game on December 6.
                                                      
The UMass offensive attack is led by a trio of forwards – Bobby Trivigno, Josh Lopina and Oliver Chau who each have five points in six games. As has been the case in recent seasons the Minutemen are fueled by a balanced attack with 15 skaters with two or more points this year.
 
UMass has been dominant in the faceoff circle this season, winning an impressive 56.4 percent of draws, which ranks first in Hockey East and sixth in the NCAA.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Catamounts lead the all-time series with UMass 46-27-8. However, the Minutemen have won a program record six straight against the Catamounts. Vermont's last win in the series was on March 2, 2018 in the Hockey East Opening Round. The Catamounts defeated UMass 4-3 12 seconds into overtime of game two of the series with Cory Thomas' first career collegiate goal.

HOCKEY EAST ANNOUNCES CHANGE TO STANDINGS AND PLAYOFFS
Hockey East made two announcements with regards to standings and the tournament on Tuesday (Dec. 15). It was announced that all games played against league teams will count toward the final standings used to determine tournament seeding, including all games previously played under the "Flex Game" designation. Hockey East also announced that all eligible teams will qualify for the 2021 Hockey East Tournament.

WOODCROFT NAMED ASSISTANT COACH WITH TEAM SWEDEN AT 2021 WJC
Todd Woodcroft has been named an assistant coach with the 2021 Sweden National Junior Team. In his role as assistant coach, Coach Woodcroft will help the team remotely, working specifically on pre-scouting the opponents and post-scouting all of Sweden's games.
 
The Sweden National Junior Team will take part in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2020 – Jan. 5, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta. All games will be held at Rogers Place the home of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers. All games in the tournament will air live on the NHL Network.
 
BE A PART OF THE CROWD AT THE GUT THIS YEAR
Miss being in the stands at Gutterson Fieldhouse this season? You can still be a part of the action by purchasing a cutout version of yourself or pet to be displayed the entire season. For more information visit go.uvm.edu/cutouts.
 
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2020-21 men's hockey season