MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men's hockey team will play its final home game of the 2021-22 campaign Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. as they host No. 13 Northeastern at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Tuesday evening's presenting sponsor is People's United Bank. Tuesday's game 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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PEOPLE'S UNITED BANK REPLICA JERSEY GIVEAWAY
The first 500 fans Tuesday night will receive a replica Vermont hockey jersey courtesy of People's United Bank.
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 eight goals and eight assists for 16 points. Six of Lagunov's eight goals have come in Hockey East play.
IT ALL STARTS AT THE DOT
Vermont is 12th in the NCAA and fourth in Hockey East winning 52.0% of their faceoffs. First year
Simon Jellus has won 55.0% of his draws and graduate transfer
Philip Lagunov has won 52.3% of his draws, winning 315 this season. Lagunov's 315 wins place him 27th in the NCAA this season.
DISCIPLINE A PRIORITY
The Catamounts are the most disciplined team in college hockey this season. Their 245 penalty minutes are the fewest in the NCAA this season. In 15 games this season UVM has committed six minutes or less of penalties, including eight of its last 12 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.
HOCKEY EAST PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Catamounts will be on the road for the single-elimination Opening Round of the Hockey East Playoffs next Wednesday, March 9. Vermont will travel to face either Northeastern, Merrimack, UMass Lowell, Boston University, UConn or Providence. Entering the final week of regular season play just three points separate second through seventh place in Hockey East.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
After a weekend sweep of No. 19 UConn in a home-and-home series Northeastern has won three straight games. This afternoon junior forward Aidan McDonough was named Hockey East Player of the Week and sophomore goaltender Devon Levi was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Week, earning his sixth weekly award of the season. McDonough had four goals and three assists against UConn last weekend. He is second in the NCAA with 22 goals this season. On Friday night Levi tied a program record with 60 saves in a 3-1 home win over UConn. Levi earned his NCAA-leading ninth shutout of the season on January 18 at Vermont.
Northeastern enters the final week of the season tied for second place in Hockey East with 41 points. The Huskies are tied with Merrimack in second, both of them are five points back of first place UMass.
SERIES HISTORY
The Catamounts lead the all-time series with Northeastern 34-32-8. Vermont is 17-6-7 at home against the Huskies. UVM has hosted the Huskies in five of the last six meetings between the two teams.
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
