MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont (7-7-1) men's hockey team is back in action following the semester break as they host St. Thomas (9-8-1) in their final home non-conference weekend series. The teams will faceoff at 7 p.m. Friday night and 5 p.m. Saturday evening from historic Gutterson Fieldhouse. Both contests will air live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan on the call. As always, the games will also be broadcast live on WVMT with the voice of the Catamounts Adam Lafleur in the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth. 

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2 for 24 PROMOTION
Ring in the New Year with the Catamounts! To celebrate 2024, we're offering fans two reserved seats for just $24 to either weekend game against St. Thomas. Order online at XXXXXX and use the promo code "2024" at checkout.
 
FRIDAY IS DR POWER NIGHT
Friday night at the Gut is DR Power Night. DR Power will be raffling off a Power Trimmer Mower, and giving out foam pucks in the main lobby. In addition, there will be free carnival snacks for fans to enjoy while watching the game. In the Hockey Hall of Honor there will also be a signed team stick and jersey that fans can enter to win. To do so, fans will receive a free raffle ticket upon arrival that they must bring to the marketing table and choose what bucket to place it in. Winners will be announced in-game.
 
YOUTH DAY & RALLY'S BIRTHDAY PRESENTED BY HANDY & HEALTHY LIVING SATURDAY
From 4-5 p.m. in the Indoor Track (adjacent to Gutterson Fieldhouse) will be lawn games, food, giveaways, and more for Rally's Round Up members as we celebrate Rally's birthday in conjunction with Youth Day presented by Healthy Living! In addition, the first 1,000 fans Saturday will receive a free hot dog courtesy of Handy.
 
ALL-AMERICAN STALBERG BEHIND THE BENCH
With Associate Head Coach Scott Moser, away at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships former Catamount All-American and 2013 Stanley Cup Champion Viktor Stålberg '09 will be behind the bench this weekend. In his formal role this season as Advisor to the Coaching Staff, Stålberg is able to coach on the bench with Moser away from the team.
 
During his junior year at Vermont, Stålberg was a First Team All-American and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top NCAA men's hockey player, with 24 goals and 22 assists. He led the Catamounts to their second ever Frozen Four appearance in 2009. Stålberg's 24 goals in 2009 ranked fifth in the nation and he led the team in goals, assists, and points. He played 12 professional seasons, including eight years in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and represented Sweden in the 2012 IIHF World Championships and the 2018 Winter Olympics.
 
CARRYING MOMENTUM INTO THE NEW YEAR
Vermont enters Friday action on a three-game winning streak having outscored its opponents 12-4 during that stretch. The Catamounts seven wins are the most it has had at the semester break since the 2016-17 campaign. UVM currently sits 29th in the Pairwise ahead of Merrimack, UConn and UMass Lowell in Hockey East.
 
The Catamounts utilized their third three-goal period of the season to sweep LIU with a 5-1 win on Dec. 17 in their last game. Vermont also scored three power play goals for the first time this season in that contest. Vermont's weekend sweep of LIU was its first since topping UNH in back-to-back 2-1 decisions in November of 2022.
 
G CARRYING THE CATAMOUNTS
Senior goaltender Gabe Carriere has played every minute (902:02) for the Catamounts this season. His save percentage of .920 is 12th best in the NCAA. His 2.33 goals-against average is tied for 18th best in the country. He is two wins shy of matching his career-high of nine wins set last season with Vermont.
 
EXPERIENCE LEADING THE CATAMOUNTS OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Senior captain Will Zapernick (2 G, 8 Ast) and graduate defenseman Jérémie Bucheler (5 G, 5 Ast) lead the Catamounts offensive attack with 10 points apiece. Graduate forward Ryan Miotto is third on the team in scoring with four goals and four assists for eight points. Bucheler and junior forward Simon Jellus share the lead on the team with five goals. Jellus leads the squad with two game-tying goals.
 
Vermont has a balanced offensive attack; the Catamounts 41 goals have come from 19 different goal scorers.
 
SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
St. Thomas enters the weekend ranked 31st in the Pairwise. Seven transfer players joined UST in 2023-24, including six hailing from the state of Minnesota. The Tommies made an early impression this season knocking off then #8 St. Cloud State 5-4 on the road in their first game of the year. Forwards Lucas Wahlin and Mack Byers lead the UST offense with eight goals in 18 games this season. Wahlin also holds the team-lead in assists (12) and points (20).
 
UST is expected to have a new defenseman in the lineup this weekend. The 2023 New Jersey Devils fifth round draft pick Chase Cheslock could make his collegiate debut after playing 30 games over the last two seasons for Omaha (USHL). He is the Toms' first-ever NHL draft pick and he'll wear the number 26.
 
Junior goaltender and Niagara (Atlantic Hockey) transfer Jake Sibell leads the NCAA in save percentage (.940) and goals-against average (1.65). Since Nov. 1 he holds a 4-1-0 record allowing just nine goals over that stretch.   
 
TOMMIES FIRST TIME FACING HOCKEY EAST
In addition to being St. Thomas' first time facing the Catamounts it will also be their first time against a Hockey East opponent. The Tommies are in their third full season of Division I action and with two more wins they'll match their program record for wins with 11 (2022-23).
 
CATAMOUNTS HISTORY WITH BLASI
It will not be St. Thomas Head Coach Rico Blasi's first trip to the Gut. The 5-time CCHA Coach of the Year at Miami last made the trip to Catamount Country in the fall of 2008. The Redhawks and the Catamounts would advance to the Frozen Four at the end of the 2008-09 campaign. UVM won the first game 4-3 and tied the second 3-3. In six all-time meetings against Vermont Blasi holds a 2-3-1 record.
 
MOSER BACK AT THE 2024 WORLD JUNIORS IN SWEDEN
Vermont Associate Head Coach Scott Moser is currently at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. He is reprising his role with Slovakia as an Assistant Coach. With the Slovaks, he runs the forwards & power play like at UVM. Through two games at the tournament the Slovaks are in first place in Group B with two wins in as many games. They are back in action Friday at 6 a.m. as they face Norway. Then on Sunday they will face the gold medal favorites USA at 6 a.m. to close out pool play. Both contests will air live on the NHL Network.
 
Moser has coached Slovakia at the last four World Juniors. At the 2023 World Juniors in Nova Scotia the Slovaks finished second in the tournament with a power play clicking at 45%. Over the last few seasons with the Slovak program Moser has coached over 20 NHL draft picks, including five first rounders, and first & second overall picks Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec.
 
DRAFT CAPITAL
The Catamounts enter the new season with six NHL Draft picks on the roster. Eli Barnett (San Jose, 2022 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 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. There are eight student-athletes from Ontario alone, including five newcomers this year.

Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the UVM men's hockey program