BURLINGTON, Vt. - Vermont women's hockey head coach Jim Plumer has selected four student-athletes to lead the Catamounts during the 2021-22 campaign. Kristina Shanahan will captain UVM with Sini Karjalainen, Alex Gray and Theresa Schafzahl serving as alternate captains.
 
"On a team that is so deep with character it is difficult to choose just a few players to have formal leadership roles," said Plumer. "We are fortunate to have Kristina Shanahan return for a second year as a captain and I am looking forward to working with this exceptional group of leaders. I am even more excited that they have such a great group of teammates to work with and I know that we can count on leadership from so many people in our program."
 
Returning with Alyssa Holmes for a fifth season in Catamount Country Shanahan is the most experienced skater on the roster. She has played in 118 games and is the active leader in scoring with 26 career goals and 55 career points. During the condensed 2020-21 campaign, she picked up a goal and three assists.
 
Karjalainen will be wearing a letter for the second straight season. The rising senior tallied one assist in 11 games last year. As a sophomore, she notched a single-season record for a Vermont defenseman with 19 assists. The Posio, Finland native is expected to represent her home country in the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship, slated for late August in Calgary, Alberta.
 
Gray and Schafzahl will enter their senior campaigns donning the 'A' for the first time. Both forwards played in all 11 games for the Catamounts last season. Schafzahl notched four goals and four assists for eight points including the game-winning goal for the Catamounts in overtime at UConn on January 9. Gray picked up an assist in Vermont's opening contest against UNH on December 19.
 
The Catamounts went 6-4-0 during the condensed 2020-21 season clinching fourth place in Hockey East for the first time since 2017. First year goaltender Jessie McPherson became the first women's hockey player in program history to be named Hockey East Rookie of the Year. Rising senior defenseman Maude Poulin-Labelle became the third Catamount in program history to be named a Hockey East All-Star in back-to-back seasons. Poulin-Labelle led the Catamounts in scoring last season with one goal and eight assists for nine points. At 0.90 points-per game she was the second highest scoring defenseman in the NCAA last year.