MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men's hockey team returns to Gutterson Fieldhouse this weekend for another split weekend series in conference play. On Friday night UVM will host New Hampshire at 7 p.m. and then on Super Bowl Sunday the Catamounts will face Merrimack for the first time this season at 1 p.m. Both games will air for free on CollegeSportsLive. The voice of the Catamounts, Adam LaFleur, will broadcast the action live on WVMT (FM 96.3 / AM 620).
 
Friday night's contest will also air locally on WYCI as a part of WCAX and UVM's partnership broadcasting "Hockey Night in Vermont." WYCI is available on the following channels Comcast – 712, Burlington Telecom - 284, Dish Network - 34, DirecTV 40, and Spectrum – 706/1230. 
 
RELATED LINKS
Listen Live | Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets
CatamounTV Preview: Coach Woodcroft | Long
 
SENIOR NIGHT PRESENTED BY THE UVM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
On Friday night, the Catamounts will be honoring its 10 seniors with a special postgame ceremony. Fans are invited to stay in their seats following the game for the presentation at center ice. The UVM Alumni Association is the presenting sponsor of all of the Catamounts senior celebrations.
 
FRIDAY CATAMOUNTS RALLY AGAINST CANCER
On Friday, the Vermont men's and women's hockey teams will be wearing special edition Rally Against Cancer jerseys. The jerseys are accented with lavender to represent the ongoing fight against all cancers. At puck drop of each contest the game-worn jerseys will be available via auction at uvmathletics.com/auctions. Bidding begins at $125 and proceeds benefit the University of Vermont Cancer Center.
 
FRIDAY NIGHT PRESENTED BY HANDY TOYOTA
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of Friday night's contest. They will be giving away t-shirts in the main lobby.
 
JOIN US FOR RALLY'S BIRTHDAY SUNDAY
At Sunday's game against Merrimack we'll be celebrating Rally's birthday. Doors open at noon on Sunday, join us for an afternoon full of fun with activities, a chance to dress like a Catamount at our photo booth and of course Rally!
 
COACHES' CIRCLE HOSPITALITY UNAVAILABLE ON SUNDAY
On Sunday, February 13, our Indoor Track & Field team will be hosting New Hampshire at 12 p.m.  Due to this scheduling overlap, we will NOT be hosting a Victory Club Coaches' Circle for the game against Merrimack. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
 
LAGUNOV LEADING YOUNG GROUP
Philip Lagunov, a graduate forward and 2021 National Champion with UMass, has led UVM's young group of forwards this season. He leads UVM in scoring with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. Five of Lagunov's seven goals have come in Hockey East play.
 
IT ALL STARTS AT THE DOT
Vermont is ninth in the NCAA and first in Hockey East winning 55.1% of their faceoffs. First year Simon Jellus has won 60.1% of his draws and graduate transfer Philip Lagunov has won 52.8% of his draws, winning 262 this season. Lagunov's 262 wins place him 31st in the NCAA this season.
 
FAST STARTS KEY FOR THE CATAMOUNTS
Vermont has scored 18 of its 41 goals this season in the first period. When leading after the first period this season the Catamounts are 2-2-1. When leading after two periods UVM is 2-0-0.
 
DISCIPLINE A PRIORITY
The Catamounts are one of the most disciplined teams in college hockey this season. Their 193 penalty minutes is third fewest in the NCAA this season. In 13 games this season UVM has committed six minutes or less of penalties, including each of its last six games. On December 30 against RPI the Catamounts didn't commit any infractions. It was their first game without a penalty taken in over 20 years.
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
UNH brings a 12-13-1 overall record and 6-10-1 mark in Hockey East into the weekend. The Wildcats are in ninth place in Hockey East nine points ahead of Maine and Vermont entering Friday's action. The Wildcats have not played at Vermont in two full years, so the team's first years and sophomores have not played at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
New Hampshire and Vermont played a pair of games at the Whittemore Center in November. UNH won the Friday night game, 2-1, and the teams tied 3-3 in game two. UVM won the second the game in a shootout. Lagunov scored the game-winner in the shootout for the Catamounts.
 
Friday marks the 122nd meeting between Vermont and New Hampshire. UNH holds an 83-27-11 record in the series, bolstered by a 32-4-0 record to begin the series. The series dates back to UVM's first varsity season. Vermont played New Hampshire in its third-ever game, losing 6-3 in Durham.
 
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Sunday will be Merrimack's first game at Gutterson Fieldhouse since January 26, 2019, a total of 1114 days. Only two players on the Warriors roster have ever played at the Gut before. Merrimack is one of the hottest teams in college hockey boasting an 8-3-1 in their last 12 games. A great January for the Warriors was highlighted by back-to-back sweeps of ranked UMass Lowell and Providence teams.
Merrimack's leading scorer is graduate forward Max Newton. He leads the team with 12 goals, 19 assists and 31 points. He is currently on a four-game point streak with two goals and five assists. The Warriors have scored 86 goals this season, third-most in Hockey East.
 
Vermont holds a 19-18-8 all-time record against Merrimack, including a 12-8-3 mark at Gutterson Fieldhouse. UVM 3-1-1 in its last five games against the Warriors. It will be Head Coach Todd Woodcroft's first time facing Merrimack.
 
MÄÄTTÄ AND MÜNZENBERGER EXCEL AT THE 2022 WORLD JUNIORS
Vermont first years Joel Määttä (Finland) and Luca Münzenberger (Germany) represented the Catamounts well at the 2022 World Junior Championships before they were canceled.
 
In two games Määttä had a goal and two assists for Finland including the game-winner on December 26 against Germany and his UVM teammate Münzenberger. He averaged 15:18 of ice-time for the 2-0-0 Finns. Määttä was third in the tournament in faceoff percentage winning 74.2 percent of his draws. He won 23 of the 31 faceoffs he took.
 
Münzenberger had the only goal for the Germans in their matchup with the Finns and was named the Player of the Game for Germany on December 26. He was fourth amongst all skaters in the tournament averaging 23:31 minutes per game during the Germans two contests, which included overtime against Czechia. Münzenberger had an assist in the Germans 2-1 OT win over Czechia.
 
DRAFT CAPITAL
The Catamounts enter the new season with five NHL Draft picks on the roster. It is the first time in the 2000s UVM has had more than three players drafted on the roster at one time. Robbie Stucker (Columbus, 2017 7th Rd.), Andrei Buyalsky (Colorado, 2021 3rd Rd.), Luca Mu¨nzenberger (Edmonton, 2021 3rd Rd.), Isak Walther (Nashville, 2019 6th Rd.) and Timofei Spitserov (San Jose, 2020 7th Rd.) are sure to bring NHL attention to the program this season.
 
NEW FACES AT THE GUT
Second year Head Coach Todd Woodcroft will field a significantly different team this year in Catamount Country. UVM's newcomers include 10 first years, two juniors, one senior and a grad transfer.
 
GUT HOCKEY GOES INTERNATIONAL
The Vermont roster is comprised of student-athletes from nine different countries. There is at least one player from Finland, Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Germany, Kazakhstan, Canada and the United States. UVM features five players from Ontario the most of any province or state. Vermont's eight players from outside North America is tied for the second most of any Division I program with Lake Superior State. Only Alaska has more with 14.
 
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2021-22 men's hockey season