WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
With seven games left in the regular season the 11th ranked Vermont women's hockey team heads to Boston this weekend to face the Boston College Eagles on Friday night and the Boston University Terriers on Saturday. Puck drop from Chestnut Hill is set for 6 p.m. Friday and at 3 p.m. Saturday from Walter Brown Arena. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The games will also be available on a pay-per-view basis internationally at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hockeyeast. Subscriptions to the service are available for $9.99 USD per month or $4.99 USD for individual games.
 
RELATED LINKS
CatamounTV Weekly Press Conference: Coach Plumer | McCool
Friday at BC: Live Stats | ESPN+
Saturday: Live Stats | ESPN+
International Streaming ($)
 
STRETCH RUN MEANS STANDINGS WATCH
With seven games to go in the regular season the race for home-ice in the quarterfinals is heating up. Right now, it appears as though it's a five-team race for the coveted top-four spots. Keep in mind with the current league format a total of three points is up for grabs in each game.

1. Northeastern                          58 Pts
2. Vermont                                 40 Pts
3. Providence                             40 Pts
4. Boston College/UConn          35 Pts

 
CATAMOUNTS RESET HOCKEY EAST ATTENDANCE RECORD
Last Friday the Catamounts held their annual Pack the Gut Challenge presented by the Windjammer and set a new regular season on-campus attendance record as 2,210 fans saw Vermont defeat Holy Cross 3-1. In total over the nine contests UVM has drawn 15,602 fans during Pack the Gut.
 
ACCOLADES COMING IN FOR McPHERSON
With three straight wins over Providence Jessie McPherson is now the program's all-time leader in wins with 35. McPherson is tied for sixth in the NCAA this season with 16 wins. With 16 wins this season she has also reset her own single-season program record. She has maintained a 1.87 goals-against average which is 16th in the NCAA.  Earlier in the month she was one of 27 goaltenders named to the Women's Hockey Commissioners Association "Watch List" for the 2023 National Women's Goalie of the Year award.
 
YOU DON'T WANT TO TRAIL VERMONT
The Catamounts are 12-0-1 this season when leading after the first period and 13-0-0 when leading after two periods. In all nine of its losses this season Vermont has trailed after the opening period.
 
LONG CHANGE, LONG PERIOD
The Catamounts have been most effective this season during the second period, when both teams have the long change. UVM has outscored its opponents 28-12 in the second and outshot teams 272-174. Providence (12), UVM and Northeastern (9) are the only teams in Hockey East to give up less than 16 in the second frame.
 
OFFENSE AND DEFENSE AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
With 3.0 goals-per game the Catamounts offense ranks 14th in the NCAA. Vermont has scored five or more goals six times in 27 games this season. Vermont is giving up just 1.9 goals per game which is 12th best in the NCAA.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Boston College enters Friday's contest have dropped four of its last five games. Last weekend the Eagles fell 5-3 at New Hampshire and then 2-1 (OT) at Maine. At home this season Boston College has only lost two games in league action. Senior captain Hannah Bilka leads the Eagles with 19 assists and 29 points. Sophomore forward Abby Newhook is tops on the team with 12 goals. Bilka had two goals and an assist at Vermont in October. Boston College's penalty kill is converting at 89.7%, which is fifth in the NCAA.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday will be the 62nd meeting in program history between the Eagles and the Catamounts. Boston College boasts a 50-6-5 edge in the series. Last season the Catamounts were 2-0-1 against the Eagles securing eight of a possible nine league points. Earlier in October the Vermont defeated BC 3-2 before falling in the second game 4-3 in overtime. UVM outshot BC 44-13 in the first game of the series.
 
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
In the New Year the Terriers are 1-3-2 but their win came in their last contest as they defeated UNH 3-1 in Durham. BU is 7-12-2 this season in Hockey East and they sit in seventh place with 26 points. Senior forward Julia Nearis leads the Terriers with nine goals, nine assists and 18 points. Against the Catamounts in November she had one goal and three assists. On Monday first year defenseman Clara Yuhn was named Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week. She had a goal and two assists on the weekend and a +2 rating. She also had a 68.8% mark in the faceoff dot.
 
SERIES HISTORY
BU is 38-11-8 against the Catamounts all-time. The Terriers have won six of the last 10 meetings in the series. In the last 10 matchups at Walter Brown Arena UVM is 1-5-4. Their only win came on February 12, 2021 a 4-0 decision. Juniors Maddy Skelton and Tynka Pátková each registered their first career multi-point games in that contest as each chipped in a goal and an assist.
 
CZECH-MATES EARN BRONZE
Vermont forwards Tynka Pátková & Natálie Mlýnková earned bronze medals at the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championships in Denmark in September. Czechia defeated Switzerland 4-2 in the bronze medal game behind two goals from Mlýnková. It was Czechia's first-ever medal on the women's side. Former Catamount Blanka Škodová 
was also a member of the team.
 
There were three other current Catamounts in the tournament patrolling the blueline. First year Krista Parkkonen (Finland) made her World Championships debut while Sofie Skott (Denmark) and Sini Karjalainen (Finland) competed in their second World Championship at the senior level.
 
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR SHE ROARS AND UVM ATHLETICS
She Roars has produced an exclusive line of apparel for UVM Athletics fans to show their support of all women, transwomen, femme and nonbinary folks in sport and in our community. The exclusive team store is open until 2/5 order now at go.uvm.edu/roar.
 
NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY
The University of Vermont Athletic Department will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day powered by Vermont Mutual on Saturday, February 4th during the women's basketball game against UAlbany at 12 P.M. On February 4th, girls from the local community with an interest in sports and being involved in this celebration will have the opportunity to become members of the UVM Athletic Staff for the day. Girls between fourth and eighth grade can apply to a wide variety of positions including: Public Address Announcer, Marketing Assistant, Ticket Staff, and many more! Participants will be able to work in the position for one half of the game, the other half they will be able to watch the game with their family. To apply, please visit https://uvmathletics.com/sb_output.aspx?form=126
 
The Windjammer Inn and Conference Center is the presenting sponsor of the UVM women's hockey program