MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont (10-11-1) men's hockey team continues Hockey East play this weekend as they host #17 New Hampshire (12-7-1) in a two-game set. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night. Friday and Saturday's 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.
RELATED LINKS
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CatamounTV Weekly Press Conference: Coach Wiedler
Watch Live on ESPN+: Friday | Saturday
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Listen Live: WVMT
Live Stats
RALLY AGAINST CANCER PRESENTED BY MASCOMA BANK
Friday is the Catamounts Rally Against Cancer game presented by Mascoma Bank. There will be Rally towels and other small giveaways in the main lobby including lip balm and sunscreen. The team will be wearing special edition Rally Against Cancer jerseys that will be auctioned off online starting at puck drop at
https://www.32auctions.com/uvmmihcancer The auction will end on Friday, February 2 at 7 p.m. and proceeds will benefit the UVM Cancer Center. Fans are encouraged to wear lavender, the universal cancer awareness color to this game in support of the team's cancer awareness initiatives.
FAN APPRECIATON NIGHT SATURDAY PRESENTED BY LITTLE CAESARS
Saturday is Fan Appreciation night presented by Little Caesars. Fans will be randomly selected to win prizes in-game all night long! Little Caesars will be handing out free pizza to UVM students, and be one of the first 500 fans in the door to receive a free pom hat from NBT Bank in the main lobby.
CRUCIAL STRETCH AHEAD IN THE STANDINGS
The Catamounts will face New Hampshire, Merrimack and UMass Lowell in their six games. Vermont currently sits in eighth place in Hockey East, the final home ice slot in the Opening Round, with 13 points. The Wildcats are in seventh place with 16 points, while Merrimack is one point behind Vermont and UML is three points behind the Catamounts.
BUCHELER LEADING THE BACKLINE
In his last 15 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 eight 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 5-2-0 in games he scores in this season.
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 .913 save percentage which is tied for 20th best in the NCAA. It is the fifth best mark in Hockey East. Earlier in the month he was named to the 2024 Richter Award "Watch List."
Gabe has started all 22 games for the Catamounts registering 1,305:50 of game action and posting 589 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 WILDCATS
The Wildcats have been ranked in the Top-20 since October 30 after posting a 4-1-0 record to start the season including wins over #1 Boston University, #4 Quinnipiac and #17 Northeastern. Since the semester break the Wildcats are 4-3-0. Last weekend they split a two-game series with UConn, winning 5-0 on Friday on the road before falling 2-1 Sunday.
First year forward Ryan Conmy leads the Wildcats in scoring with 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points. With 11 goals Conmy is tied for 10th as the top rookie scorer in college hockey. UNH has won two games this season where Conmy didn't record a point.
Junior goaltender and North Dakota transfer Jakob Hellsten is tops in Hockey East and is second in the NCAA in goals-against average with 1.69. He is also first in the conference and fifth nationally in save percentage (.925).
SERIES HISTORY
Friday marks the 126th meeting between Vermont and New Hampshire. UNH holds an 83-31-11 record in the series, bolstered by a 32-4-0 record to begin the series. Since Coach Wiedler has been in Catamount Country Vermont is 4-1-1 against the Wildcats. UVM took all three contests last season, two at the Gut and one on the road. In the final matchup UVM scored three unanswered in the third period at the Whittemore Center on March 2 to win 3-2. The series dates back to UVM's first varsity season. Vermont played New Hampshire in its third-ever game, losing 6-3 in Durham.
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
