MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont (10-9-1) men's hockey team continues Hockey East play this weekend as they host the number one ranked team in the NCAA Boston University (14-4-1) in a two-game set. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night. Friday's contest will air live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan on the call and it will be simulcast on TSN+ in Canada. On Saturday Ryan Zimmerman will have the call exclusively on ESPN+. 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. 
 
Friday night is the Catamounts Rally Around Mental Health game night presented by Redstone. Fans can visit the main lobby to enter to win a mental health and movie gift basket. UVM students can enter to win a season pass to Smugglers' Notch at the marketing table. Winners will be announced in-game.
 
Saturday is Community Bank and Dunkin' game night. Community Bank and Dunkin' will both have product and sample giveaways. UVM students can enter to win a season pass to Smugglers' Notch at the marketing table. Winners will be announced in-game. Limited tickets for both nights are available at UVMAthletics.com.

RELATED LINKS
Buy Tickets
CatamounTV Weekly Press Conference: Coach Wiedler | Carriere
Watch Live on ESPN+: Friday | Saturday
International Broadcast ($)
Listen Live: WVMT
Live Stats
 
CATAMOUNTS AND THE TOP RANKED TEAM
In the last 20 years the Catamounts have played the top-ranked team in the country 13 times posting a record of 2-10-1. Vermont topped #1 Minnesota Duluth 3-2 on October 29, 2004 and #1 Denver October 10, 2009 on the road. The last #1 team to play at Gutterson Fieldhouse was North Dakota in October of 2015. The Flying Hawks topped Vermont 2-0 and 5-2 to sweep the series. In the last 20 years UVM is 0-4-0 against the top-ranked team at the Gut.
 
BUCHELER LEADING THE BACKLINE
In his last 13 games graduate defenseman and Northeastern transfer Jérémie Bucheler has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. The 16 points have set a new career-high for Bucheler in a single season. Bucheler leads the Catamounts in scoring this season.
 
MIOTTO FILLING UP THE NET WHEN IT MATTERS
Graduate forward Ryan Miotto leads the Catamounts with seven goals this season. He also has a team-high three game-winning goals. He posted the game-winner against UMass (12/1), Union (12/9) and St. Thomas (12/29) all in home games. Vermont is 5-1-0 in games he scores in this season. Miotto scored twice last Friday at Northeastern.
 
CARRIERE NAMED HOCKEY EAST GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH
Senior goaltender Gabe Carriere was named the Stop It Goaltending Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for December. Carriere won five straight games in December for the Catamounts. In the month of December, he was 6-2-0 with a 1.75 GAA and .930 save percentage. Overall Gabe has posted a .919 save percentage which istied for 12th best in the NCAA.
 
Gabe has started all 20 games for the Catamounts registering 1,199:10 of game action and posting 535 saves. Carriere is the first Catamount to earn Hockey East Goaltender of the Month honors since Stefanos Lekkas '20 in the fall of 2016. As a first year Lekkas won a share of the award in October and November.
 
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
Boston University has won five straight games and they are in first place in Hockey East with a record of 9-1-1. They sit six points ahead of second place Boston College. Terriers are also the top team in the Pairwise entering this weekend. Last weekend the Terriers topped #16 UNH 3-0. BU scored two goals 39 seconds apart in the third period to break the game open.
 
First year forward Macklin Celebrini leads the Terriers in scoring with 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points. He was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week after posting three goals and one assist in his first two games back from the World Juniors with Canada. At the World Juniors, he had four goals and four assists in five games. Last week Celebrini was ranked No. 1 in the NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings of the top North American skaters eligible for the 2024 NHL Draft.
 
Junior goaltender and Brown transfer Mathieu Caron was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Week. He made 36 saves to pick up his first shutout as a Terrier over UNH. In 19 games this season he is 14-4-1 with a .915 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against average.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Vermont is 24-58-10 all-time against the Terriers. Boston University has won the last eight contests in Catamount Country, including two during the 22-23 season. Vermont's last win in the series came in January of 2022 as William Lemay notched his first career game-winning goal in overtime to defeat the Terriers 2-1 on Jan. 21. It was the first time in program history UVM defeated Boston University in overtime.
 
Last March the Terriers ended the Catamounts season in the Hockey East Quarterfinals with a 7-3 win at Agganis Arena. BU scored three goals in the opening 8:49 of the first period to seize control of the contest. Gabe Carriere made 43 saves between the pipes for Vermont, the second-highest total in his career. It was the Catamounts first quarterfinal appearance since 2017.
 
The last time these teams met and Boston University was ranked first in the country was at the 2009 Frozen Four in Washington, D.C. the Catamounts were ranked third at the time. The Terriers completed a late third period comeback on April 9, 2009 to defeat Vermont 5-4 on the way to their fifth national title.
 
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