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After a two-week hiatus Vermont (6-8-3, 3-4-2 HEA) returns to action Sunday evening as they travel to face Army (5-12-0, 5-7-0 AHA) at 6 p.m. from Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y. The matchup will be broadcast live on FloHockey ($). The game will also be broadcast on WVMT with the voice of the Catamounts Adam LaFleur in the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth.

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FIRST YEARS PRODUCING EARLY ON FOR UVM

• Two of the top three scorers for the Catamounts are first years.
• Max Strand leads the team in scoring with 15 points on four goals and a team high 11 assists. Colin Kessler isn't far behind, producing 12 points on a team-high six goals and six assists.
• Strand has recorded a point in six straight games, tallying three goals and four assists. Strand hasn't gone longer than two games this season without recording a point or more. He currently is tied for the eighth most points scored during Hockey East play.

SPECIAL TEAMS HELPING LEAD WAY

• The Catamounts are ranked third in Hockey East, 11th in the NCAA with an 87.3% penalty kill this season.
• Vermont has scored 11 powerplay goals in the last 12 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.
• He made a career-high 38 saves in the Catamounts last win over No. 20 UMass on Nov. 24.

OFFENSIVE SURGE

• The Catamounts have scored 18 goals in their last four games, going 3-0-1 over that stretch.
• Against LIU and Union, the Catamounts scored a season-high nine goals in the respective weekend series.
• Vermont's 7-4 win on Dec. 7 over the Sharks was the first time the Catamount's scored seven goals in a single game since the 2016-17 season when UVM defeated Bently on December 30, 2016, winning by a score of 7-1.

MOSER AT 2025 WORLD JUNIORS IN OTTAWA

• Associate Head Coach Scott Moser is reprising his role as an Assistant Coach with Team Slovakia at the 2025 World Junior Championships hosted in Ottawa.
• It is the fifth straight tournament where Moser has worked with the Slovakians.
• With the Slovakians he runs the forwards and power play.
• 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.
• Team Slovakia has a 1-1-0 record after two games in this years' tournament. They are back in action on Sunday at 5 p.m. as they face Czechia, who is tied for first place in Group B. You can catch all the action in the U.S. on NHL Network.

PERRIN BACK IN THE GREEN AND GOLD

• With Associate Head Coach Scott Moser away at the World Juniors Vermont's Advisor to the Coaching Staff Eric Perrin '97 is on the road with the Catamounts in West Point.
• Perrin is the Catamounts all-time leading scorer with 107 goals. He also added 149 assists for 256 points in the green and gold.
• In 1996 he was a First Team All-American and helped the Catamounts advance to their first-ever Frozen Four.

SCOUTING ARMY

• Army is 5-12-0 overall this season and 5-7-0 in Atlantic Hockey play.
• The Black Knights have lost six straight games entering the matchup with Vermont, Saturday evening Army fell 1-0 to Princeton.
• The Black Knights have scored only four power play goals this season, converting just 7.7% of the time. The four power play goals are tied for the least in the NCAA and the 7.7% conversion rate is 63rd in the country.
• A trio of sophomores are tied for the Army lead in scoring with four goals apiece – Mac Gadowsky, Nik Hong and Barron Woodring. Gadowsky has the team lead in points as well with 10.
• First Year goaltender JJ Cataldo has made the most starts for the Black Knights with 11. Although he's amassed a 4-7-0 record, he's maintained an impressive .933 save percentage. On November 8 he posted his first career shutout with 39 saves against Niagara.
• This will be the Catamounts first matchup with Army since topping the Black Knights 8-4 on November 30, 2002. Vermont leads the all-time series with the Black Knights with a record of 14-4-2.
• UVM is 6-2-2 on the road against Army, although in Tate Rink, which opened in 1985, the Catamounts maintain a record of 4-0-2.

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, Zapernick and Timofei Spitserov. Zapernick has also played in all 17 contests this season.

RALLY'S BIRTHDAY AND YOUTH DAY SET FOR SAT. JAN 4

• The Catamounts Saturday, January 4 matchup with St. Lawrence (slated for 6 p.m.) is Rally's Birthday Party and Youth Day presented by Healthy Living.
• There will be pizza, cupcakes, face painting, giveaways and more!
• Fans 12 and under receive a free GA ticket at the box office beginning at 4:45 p.m. Fans looking to purchase tickets can do so at go.uvm.edu/rallybday.

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