MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men's hockey team heads back out on the road this weekend to finish up a stretch of three games with Merrimack split over six days. The Catamounts and Warriors will face off at Lawler Rink at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night. 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).
 
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GAME WORN JERSEY AUCTION CLOSES FRIDAY AT 7 PM
Last Friday, the men's hockey team wore special edition Rally Against Cancer jerseys. The jerseys are accented with lavender to represent the ongoing fight against all cancers. The jersey auction will close Friday at 7 p.m. Bid now at uvmathletics.com/auctions.
 
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 eights 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 fourth in Hockey East winning 53.4% of their faceoffs. First year Simon Jellus has won 58.7% of his draws and graduate transfer Philip Lagunov has won 53.4% of his draws, winning 283 this season. Lagunov's 283 wins place him tied for 26th in the NCAA this season.
 
FAST STARTS KEY FOR THE CATAMOUNTS
Vermont has scored 18 of its 44 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 3-0-0.
 
DISCIPLINE A PRIORITY
The Catamounts are one of the most disciplined teams in college hockey this season. Their 209 penalty minutes is the second fewest in the NCAA this season. In 14 games this season UVM has committed six minutes or less of penalties, including seven of its last eight 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 WARRIORS
The Warriors are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and now sit alone in fifth place in Hockey East. Just seven points separate first place through seventh place.
 
Merrimack's leading scorer is graduate forward Max Newton. He leads the team with 12 goals, 19 assists and 31 points. Newtown's four-game point streak was snapped against Vermont on Sunday. The Warriors have scored 90 goals this season, third-most in Hockey East.
 
The all-time series between the two teams in knotted at 19-19-8 following the Warriors 4-1 win on Sunday afternoon. UVM 2-2-1 in its last five games against the Warriors. It will be Head Coach Todd Woodcroft's first time coaching at Lawler Rink
 
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