WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
After a home win against Saint Michael's College, the Catamounts hit the road for the first time in 2024 as they head to RPI for a two-game series. Friday and Saturday's games are both set to start at 3 p.m. in Houston Field House. Catch all the action live on ESPN+
RELATED LINKS
Live Stats
Live Video (ESPN+): Friday's Game | Saturday's Game
International Streaming ($)
Vermont Night Jersey Auction
STARTING WITH POSSESSION
The Catamounts have continued to dominate the faceoff circle this season, leading the Nation in faceoff percentage with a 58.1% success rate. Last season, Vermont's 54.7% faceoff win percentage also ranked first in the conference
. Evelyne Blais-Savoie is at the forefront of these wins for UVM with 166 on the season while Natálie Mlýnková follows close behind with 156 faceoff wins on the year.
PRECISION PUCKS
With a shooting percentage of 11.5%, Vermont is first among Hockey East teams and sixth in all of Division I. Despite being outshot by 30 shots, the Cats have maximized their opportunities, scoring 51 goals on just 445 shots.
DEFENSIVE STOPPERS
Vermont ranks second in blocked shots within Hockey East, tallying an impressive total of 273. This places them eighth nationwide in this category.
Sara Levesque holds the third spot in Division I with an outstanding 47 blocks for the season, while
Krista Parkkonen secures the eighth spot nationally with 37 blocked shots this year.
ATTENDANCE RECORD RESET
Vermont broke the Hockey East home attendance record for the second straight year on November 10, smashing the previous record of 2,210. A whopping 2,705 fans attended Saturday's Pack the Gut Challenge game presented by the Windjammer against 15
th ranked Boston College.
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
RPI enters the weekend series with Vermont standing at 7-11-3 on the year. The Engineers are looking to bounce back after finishing 2023 with four consecutive losses, most recently falling to Union College 3-2 on December 8 and 3-1 on December 9. Isabelle Hardy and Aylah Cioffi scored RPI's two goals in the first game while Sabrina Beaudoin netted the Engineer's lone score in the second match.
Five players have reached the double-digit points mark for the Engineers this year. Senior forward Ellie Kaiser leads the team in points (14) while Graduate Student forward Marah Wagner has a team-high 11 assists on the season. Senior Nyah Philip, Beaudoin, and First year Andrea Trnková have each contributed 10 points as well.
SERIES HISTORY
The Catamounts lead the all-time series matchup with RPI 12-8-4, most recently defeating the Engineers 4-1 on October 2, 2021. Mlýnková recorded three points (2 goals, assist) during the contest for Vermont.
Lily Humphrey added an additional goal for UVM to solidify the win.
SCHAFZAHL MAKES PWHL HISTORY
Former Catamount captain
Theresa Schafzahl '23 scored the first goal in PWHL Boston history Wednesday night at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass. Boston fell 3-2 to Minnesota in the first-ever PWHL game on American soil. Amanda Pelkey '15 (Boston) &
Maude Poulin-Labelle '22 (Toronto) also made their debuts in the new professional women's hockey league this week.
CATAMOUNTS LEADERSHIP GROUP
Head Coach
Jim Plumer has selected five student-athletes to lead the Catamounts during the 2023-24 campaign. 2023 World Championship bronze medalist Natálie Mlýnková will serve as captain for Vermont. The Catamounts will have four alternates this season with
Hailey Burns,
Sara Levesque,
Maddy Skelton and
Alaina Tanski. Skelton served as an alternate captain last season as well.
CZECH CAPTAIN IS BACK FOR MORE
Senior captain Mlýnková is the top returning scorer in Hockey East this season. She set new career highs in goals (23), assists (19) and points (42) last year.
OFFENSIVE TOUCH KEY TO HISTORIC CAMPAIGNS
Vermont scored over 100 goals in each of the last two years for the first time in program history on their way to back-to-back second place finishes in Hockey East with a program record of 22 wins in each campaign. Vermont returns 56.1% of its scoring from a year ago.
The Windjammer Inn and Conference Center is the presenting sponsor of the UVM women's hockey program
