WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
After a record-breaking regular season campaign the Catamounts begin the Hockey East playoffs Saturday at noon in the quarterfinals. Vermont earned the two-seed in the tournament with a mark of 18-7-2 in league play and will host the seven-seed Providence (12-12-3). The action will be streamed live from Gutterson Fieldhouse on CollegeSportsLive with Rob Ryan on the call.
 
RELATED LINKS
Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets
CatamounTV Preview: Coach Plumer | McPherson | Shanahan
 
HOCKEY EAST ALL-STAR TEAMS ANNOUNCED
Maude Poulin-Labelle and Theresa Schafzahl became the first Vermont skaters in program history to be named Hockey East First-Team All-Stars Friday. It is also the first time UVM's had two representatives on the First-Team. Kristina Shanahan was named to the Second-Team and Jessie McPherson was named an Honorable Mention All-Star. First year Reagan Miller was named to Hockey East's Pro-Ambitions All-Rookie Team.
 
CATAMOUNTS EARN MAJOR POSTSEASON AWARDS
Theresa Schafzahl was formally announced as the winner of two statistical awards as the league's top scorer and PNC Bank Three Stars Award winner. In just 21 league games Schafzahl scored 21 goals and added 18 assists for 39 points. She is the first Catamount to lead Hockey East in scoring in men's or women's hockey. 
 
Alyssa Holmes, a graduate forward, became the second Catamount in program history to be honored as the Best Defensive Forward. The center of UVM's dominant top line was a +25 this season. Her 239 faceoff wins was fifth in Hockey East this season. She also blocked 23 shots for the Catamounts, most of any forward on the team. 
 
Poulin-Labelle became the first Catamount to be named Best Defenseman. She shared the honor with Northeastern defender Skylar Fontaine. She ranked third amongst all NCAA defenseman with 34 points (13G, 21 A) in 32 games. She was named Hockey East Defender of the Month in December and January. 
 
RECORD BREAKING SEASON
This seasons' special team has literally rewritten the UVM record book. The Catamounts 21 regular season wins and 18 conference wins are both program records. In addition, Vermont is currently ranked No. 10 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. It is their first appearance in that poll in program history.
 
McPHERSON FUELING THE CATAMOUNTS RUN
Sophomore goaltender Jessie McPherson has been outstanding in net for the Catamounts. Dating back to December 10 she has won 11 of her last 13 games and over that stretch she has made 313 saves on 33 shots, a .939 save percentage.
 
PK PROWESS
The Catamounts own the nation's third ranked penalty kill this season, boasting an 91.8% success rate. Vermont has only allowed seven goals while shorthanded this season, and has scored four times while on the penalty kill with Natálie Mlýnková scoring two of them. The 2018-19 Catamounts finished the season with the nation's top penalty kill at 87.4%. Vermont is one of just six teams in the country to have allowed seven or fewer goals shorthanded this season.
 
SCOUTING THE FRIARS
Providence overcame an early 1-0 deficit Wednesday in the Hockey East Opening Round to defeat the 10-seed Holy Cross 3-1. Senior forward Hunter Barnett had a team-high three points Wednesday night, all assists for the Friars. Providence has just one regulation loss in its last 10 games entering Saturday's contest. Four of their last 10 games required overtime.
 
PC is led in the crease by graduate goaltender Sandra Abstreiter who was named a Second Team All-Star by Hockey East. She has made 26 starts in net this season for the Friars and holds a .947 save percentage and a 1.68 goals against average with three shutouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday afternoon will be the 58th all-time meeting between the two teams. Providence leads the series with a record of 34-19-4. On New Years' Eve, the Friars defeated Vermont 3-1 at home. The Catamounts swept a home weekend series against the Friars in January. Graduate captain Kristina Shanahan had three goals and two assists for Vermont that weekend as UVM prevailed 3-1 and 4-1.
 
PLAYOFF HISTORY
The Catamounts are 4-15 in their Division I program history in the playoffs. All 10 appearances have come consecutively under Head Coach Jim Plumer. Vermont is 1-1 in program history hosting a quarterfinal contest. In 2014 UVM defeated Maine 3-2 in triple overtime and last year the Black Bears upset the Catamounts 3-1.
 
Vermont has made two semifinal appearances in program history in 2014 and 2017. UVM fell in both instances to Boston College. In 2014 the Eagles beat UVM 3-1 in Hyannis, Mass. then in 2017 BC defeated Vermont 4-3 in double overtime at Boston University.
 
UVM is 2-1 all-time against the Friars in the postseason. During the UVM's run to the 2017 semifinals they ousted Providence on the road. After falling in the final minute of game one of the best-of-three series 5-4 UVM took game two 5-1 and the third game 5-2.
 
LIFE AS A TWO-SEED IN HOCKEY EAST
Vermont finished as the two-seed in Hockey East for the first time in program history this season. It is UVM's first time higher than the four-seed. In the Hockey East tournament, the two-seed is 23-16 all-time, winning the league championship four times. The last two-seed to claim the league title was Boston University in 2015. The Terriers also won as the two-seed in 2014.
 
KARJALAINEN WINS BRONZE MEDAL WITH TEAM FINLAND
Senior defenseman Sini Karjalainen and Team Finland won the bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics defeating Switzerland 4-0. Karjalainen is the 2nd player in program history to win an Olympic medal. She is also the first Vermont hockey player to win a medal while on the current roster.
 
The Windjammer Inn and Conference Center is the presenting sponsor of the UVM women's hockey program