MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
After a five-point weekend at No. 18 Boston College the Catamounts return to Gutterson Fieldhouse to host No. 16 Merrimack in a two-game Hockey East set. On Friday, the teams will faceoff at 7 p.m. on DR Power night. Then on Saturday it will be a 7 p.m. puck drop again for Green Out the Gut presented by Casella. Fans are encouraged to wear green on Saturday and to bring any old batteries for recycling. Casella will also be in the Gutterson lobby handing out hats and scarves. Fans who buy a single ticket for the series with the Warriors will be entered to win a season pass at Smuggler's Notch Resort. Use the code "ski23" at checkout to be entered.

Friday is also the Catamounts annual Rally Around Mental Health Game. Rally Around Mental Health is an initiative that was created to help increase awareness and reduce stigma surrounding mental health. Created and led by student-athletes, the Rally Around Mental Health initiative offers educational programming and activities to promote mental health, resources for seeking help, and supports ongoing conversations about mental health through designated games for each sport. Visit the Rally Around Mental Health table in the Gutterson lobby for more information. If you would like to help the Rally Around Mental Health initiative bring more resources & programming to UVM Athletics, please visit go.uvm.edu/ramh.

Both contests with the Warriors will air live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan on the call.The voice of the Catamounts, Adam LaFleur, will broadcast the action from the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth on WVMT (FM 96.3 / AM 620). Both contests will also be available as always on the Varsity Network App.
 
RELATED LINKS
Buy Tickets
CatamounTV Weekly Press Conference: Coach Woodcroft | Zapernick
Listen Live on the Varsity Network App
Live Stats
Live Video: ESPN+ | International Streaming ($)
 
ZAPERNICK COLLECTS WEEKLY AWARDS
After posting two goals and an assist in the second period of Saturday's game at Boston College junior forward Will Zapernick was named Hockey East Co-Player of the Week and UVM's TD Bank Student-Athlete of the Week.
 
STANDINGS WATCH
After the Catamounts' big weekend in Chestnut Hill UVM is right into the thick of the Hockey East playoff race. Places 6-8 in the standings will host an Opening Round game on Wednesday, March 8. At the start of the weekend the Catamounts sit in ninth place with 11 points, just one shy of UMass and Maine who are tied for eighth place with 12 points. BC currently sits in seventh place with 20 points.
 
POWER PLAY CLICKING IN CATAMOUNT COUNTRY
In its last 12 games Vermont's power play has scored 12 times. Over that stretch UVM is 12-for-51, good for 23.5%. On Saturday at Boston College the Catamounts scored three power play goals in a game for the first time since October 29, 2021. Vermont is undefeated this season when scoring two or more goals on the power play this season.
 
CATAMOUNTS ARE FAST STARTERS
Vermont's best period this season has been the opening 20. The Catamounts are outscoring its opponents 19-9 in the first period. UVM has scored first in 12 of their games this season. 44.1% of Vermont's offense has been generated in the opening stanza. In the first period UVM is outshooting its opponents 220-212, while in the remaining periods it is 488-404 in favor of their opponents.
 
SCOUTING MERRIMACK
The Warriors were the surprise in Hockey East through the first half of the season. For much of the first semester Merrimack sat in first place in the league. After a weekend sweep at the hands of Northeastern last weekend the Warriors find themselves in fourth place with 40 points and outside of an NCAA Tournament position in the Pairwise. So, the Warriors will be looking to bounce back in a hurry this weekend in Burlington.
 
The first period has been decisive for the Warriors this season. When tied or ahead after the opening 20 minutes Merrimack is 15-2-1 this season, when trailing after one they are 0-7-0. Merrimack is also a perfect 11-0-0 when leading after two periods.
 
Junior forward Alex Jefferies leads Merrimack in scoring this season with eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points. Last season against the Catamounts he had four goals, including two on the power play. He scored the game-winner in both games at Lawler Rink. Sophomore forward Matt Copponi leads the Warriors with 10 goals this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Vermont holds a 19-21-8 all-time record against Merrimack, including a 12-9-3 mark at Gutterson Fieldhouse. In a scheduling quirk last season, the two teams played three times in seven days. Merrimack won 4-1 at the Gut on Sunday, February 13 and then claimed two home games 3-2 the following weekend. Last season the Warriors outscored UVM 6-1 in the third period.
 
CAPTAIN NAMED HOBEY BAKER AWARD NOMINEE
Senior forward and Catamounts captain Jacques Bouquot was named Vermont's Hobey Baker Award nominee last week. Bouquot is Vermont's leading scorer this season with five goals and eight assists for 13 points this year. In the last 10 games, he has five goals and three assists. Fans can vote for Bouquot by clicking here.
 
SIZE MATTERS
The Catamounts as a team have an average height of 6'1.6" which makes them the tallest team in college hockey. Boston University (6'0.9") is the only other team in Hockey East in the top-10. Vermont is also fourth in the NCAA in average weight at 191.0 pounds.
 
DRAFT CAPITAL
The Catamounts enter the new season with six NHL Draft picks on the roster. Robbie Stucker (Columbus, 2017 7th Rd.), Andrei Buyalsky (Colorado, 2021 3rd Rd.), Luca Münzenberger (Edmonton, 2021 3rd Rd.), Isak Walther (Nashville, 2019 6th Rd.), Timofei Spitserov (San Jose, 2020 7th Rd.) and Joel Määttä (Edmonton, 2022 7th Rd.) are sure to bring added NHL attention to the program this season.
 
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.
 
NOMINATE A HERO OF THE GUT PRESENTED BY MILTON CAT
Do you know of a Hometown Hero who has gone above and beyond in the community and would like to nominate and honor them as a Hero of the Gut? We are looking to highlight active or retired military members as well as other Heroes of our community such as police officers, firefighters, EMTs, teachers, doctors and nurses just to name a few at our Men's and Women's Hockey games.

We invite anyone to submit their Hometown Hero to be our Hero of The Gut. Recipients will receive tickets to their choice of a UVM Men's or Women's Hockey game, exclusive bench access pre-game, in-venue recognition (optional) and a token of appreciation.

Hero of the Gut is presented by Milton Cat. Nominate today at https://go.uvm.edu/hotg22.
 
NEW SEASON, NEW JERSEYS
This season the Vermont men's and women's hockey teams are wearing new jerseys by Gemini Athletic Wear. Replica versions of the new men's road green jerseys are available now through the UVM Bookstore - https://go.uvm.edu/newgreen.
 
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2022-23 men's hockey season