MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men's hockey team will play its final regular season games this weekend at UConn. The teams will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday night and 3 p.m. on Saturday, both contests will be at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The voice of the Catamounts, Adam LaFleur, will broadcast the action live on WVMT (FM 96.3 / AM 620). Live streaming is also available for free at CollegeSportsLive. Saturday's game will also be available in Connecticut on CW20.
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SHUTOUT SEND OFF
On Tuesday night, the Catamounts senior goaltender
Tyler Harmon posted a 22-save shutout in his final home game at Gutterson Fieldhouse. UVM defeated No. 13 Northeastern 1-0 in the contest. It was Harmon's first career shutout at home.
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 51.9% of their faceoffs. First year
Simon Jellus has won 55.1% of his draws and graduate transfer
Philip Lagunov has won 52.2% of his draws, winning 327 this season. Lagunov's 327 wins place him 22nd in the NCAA this season.
DISCIPLINE A PRIORITY
The Catamounts are the most disciplined team in college hockey this season. Their 249 penalty minutes are the fewest in the NCAA this season. In 16 games this season UVM has committed six minutes or less of penalties, including nine of its last 13 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. If the Catamounts maintain their lead over Maine and finish 10th they are guaranteed a trip to Providence on Wednesday, the Friars are locked-in as they seven-seed. Entering the final weekend of regular season play just three points separate second through seventh place in Hockey East.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Entering the final weekend of the season UConn sits in fifth place in Hockey East with a record of 13-9-0. It is already UConn's highest win total since joining the conference. Pending this weekend's results UConn can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the standings.
UConn is coming off a two-game sweep at the hands of No. 13 Northeastern last weekend. The Huskies lost on the road at Friday 3-1 and then fell short 5-2 at home. UConn currently sits 20th in the Pairwise, but there are five Hockey East teams ahead of them from 14-17(Merrimack and Providence are tied at 17th).
Senior Jachym Kondelik leads the team in scoring with 31 points this season. His 12 goals are second on the team. He's currently on a seven-game point streak with 10 points over that span. Graduate goaltender Darion Hanson, a Union transfer, needs one more win this year to tie the Division I single-season record at UConn with 18 wins. He is second in Hockey East in minutes played and saves (803).
SERIES HISTORY
On Friday it will have been 818 days since the Catamounts have faced UConn. The last matchup came on December 7, 2019. The Huskies are the final Hockey East team for Head Coach
Todd Woodcroft to face. Vermont leads the overall series 24-9-1 with UConn, however the Huskies have won seven of the last 10 games.
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
