MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont (2-6-3) men's hockey team is back in action Sunday for their final Hockey East contest of 2024. The Catamounts will be on the road to face No. 20 UMass (6-5-2) at 3 p.m. from the Mullins Center. The game will be broadcast live on NESN, ESPN+ and TSN+ with Bridgette Proulx and Pierre McGuire on the call. The third game in 16 days between the teams will also be broadcast on WVMT with the voice of the Catamounts Adam Lafleur in the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth.
RELATED LINKS
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Watch Live: ESPN+ | NESN 360
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FIRST YEARS PRODUCING EARLY ON FOR UVM
- Two of the Catamounts top-three scorers are first years.
- Max Strand (1 Gl, 7 Ast) and Colin Kessler (4 Gl, 4 Ast) are tied for second on the team with eight points.
- 26 of Vermont's 73 points, 35.6%, have come from first years.
SPECIAL TEAMS HELPING LEAD WAY
- The Catamounts are ranked third in the NCAA and second in Hockey East with a 93.3% penalty kill this season.
- UVM has successfully killed off 28 of their opponents 30 opportunities with the extra man.
- The Catamounts have also scored six power play goals in their last six games.
MANGBO SHUTTING THE DOOR
- Sophomore goaltender Axel Mangbo is one of two goalies (Jacob Fowler – BC) with two shutouts in league play this season.
- He shutout UMass on Nov. 9 (26 saves) and UConn on Nov. 2 (30 saves).
- He was named HEA Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 4 and HEA Co-Goaltender of the Week on Nov. 11.
SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN
- UMass enters Sunday's contest on a two-game winning streak having topped Harvard on Friday night 5-3 and No. 9 Providence 5-1 on Nov. 16.
- Friday night was the Minutemen's first home win of the season, they are 1-2-1 at the Mullins Center this season.
- Junior forward Cole O'Hara (Nashville, 4th Round Pick – 2022) leads Hockey East in scoring with six goals and 14 assists for 20 points. He has a point in every game this season except for the two contests at Vermont.
- The Catamounts lead the all-time series with UMass 49-32-11
- UVM is now 3-0-1 in its last three games against UMass, in all four contests the Minutemen have been ranked.
- On Nov. 9 the Catamounts handed the Minutemen their first shutout loss since falling 1-0 to No. 5 Maine on February 3, 2024.
CATAMOUNTS LEADERSHIP GROUP
Vermont men's hockey head coach
Steve Wiedler announced his team's leadership group for the 2024-25 campaign,
Will Zapernick and
Joel Määttä will serve as captains while
Jens Richards will be an alternate.
ALWAYS READY TO GO
Among players returning this season to Catamount Country, two players played in all 35 games during the 2023-24 season
Will Zapernick and
Timofei Spitserov. Zapernick has also played in all 11 contests this season.
For news and updates about the Vermont men's hockey program, follow @UVMmhockey on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the UVM men's hockey program
