MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont (12-15-3) men's hockey team has its final home weekend of the regular season as they host #9 Maine (19-9-2) in a two-game set from Gutterson Fieldhouse. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Both games will be available 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.
 
Friday's contest is presented by M&T Bank, the first 500 fans will receive a free replica Vermont jersey. In addition, team posters will be available at the marketing table in the Hockey Hall of Honor (second floor of lobby).
 
Saturday is Senior Night presented by MVP Health Care, there will be a co-branded water bottle giveaway courtesy of MVP Health Care. There will also be a senior rate discount for all fans 62+ which will be the group rate of $15 a ticket upon arrival. The Senior Night ceremony presented by the UVM Alumni Association will begin at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.
 
RELATED LINKS
Buy Tickets
CatamounTV Weekly Press Conference: Coach Wiedler | Zapernick
Watch Live on ESPN+: Friday | Saturday
International Broadcast ($)
Listen Live: WVMT
Live Stats
 
SENIOR DAY CEREMONY SET FOR 6:45 SATURDAY EVENING
On Saturday night, the Catamounts will honor their two seniors – Gabe Carriere and Will Zapernick, their four fifth year players - Jérémie Bucheler, Zach Dubinsky, Ryan Miotto, Chris Theodore, and senior student manager Al Beauregard in their Senior Night Ceremony presented by the UVM Alumni Association. Saturday's ceremony is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE TAKING SHAPE
With two weekends left in the regular season the Catamounts are in a tie for eighth place in Hockey East with 23 points. They are tied with UConn, but have a game in hand on the Huskies. The two teams will also faceoff in Storrs on Thursday, March 7 in UConn's final game of the season. The six, seven and eight seed in HEA will host the bottom three teams in the Hockey East Opening Round on Wednesday, March 13.
 
Mathematically UVM enters this weekend with the ability to finish anywhere from 4-11 in the league standings. The Hockey East Regular Season title is down to two teams top-ranked Boston College and #3 Boston University. The Eagles are a point ahead of BU with a game in hand down the stretch. UVM will close the regular season on March 9 at BU.
 
RICHARDS HAVING HIMSELF A YEAR IN 2024
Since returning from injury on January 6 the Catamounts sophomore forward Jens Richards has been on a scoring tear. Over the last 13 games he has posted six goals and six assists for 12 points. Overall Richards leads the team in scoring with ten goals and nine assists for 19 points, all three categories are career-highs for the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota native.
 
BUCHELER LEADING THE BACKLINE
Graduate defenseman and Northeastern transfer Jérémie Bucheler has six goals and 11 assists for 17 points. The 17 points have set a new career-high for Bucheler in a single season.
 
MIOTTO FILLING UP THE NET WHEN IT MATTERS
Graduate forward Ryan Miotto is second on the team with nine 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. His 16 points (9 Gl, 7 Ast) are third-best on the team.
 
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
The Maine resurgence under Head Coach Ben Barr has continued this year, the Black Bears are one win shy of their first 20-win campaign since 2011-12. Maine has been ranked in the top-10 for 14 straight weeks, they currently sit ninth in the Pairwise. Maine has been almost untouchable at Alfond Arena with a record of 10-2-2 but on the road, they've played .500 hockey with a mark of 7-7-0.
 
First year forward brothers Bradly and Josh Nadeau are tied for the team lead in scoring with 39 points apiece. Bradly, a first round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes has a team-high 16 goals. The Nadeaus are tied for fifth amongst first year players in scoring in the NCAA, the top six first year scorers are all in Hockey East. Both Nadeau brothers have four game-winning goals this season, tied for 10th in the NCAA. Six players on Maine have at least 20 points this season.
 
SERIES HISTORY
After defeating the Black Bears 4-2 in the Hockey East Opening Round last March from Alfond Arena the Catamounts lead the all-time series with record of 32-31-8. The Catamounts are 19-19-4 at home against the Black Bears. Last season the Black Bears came to the Gut and handed it to Vermont in a two-game sweep. Maine defeated Vermont 3-1 in the first game and 5-1 in the second. During the 2021-22 campaign Gabe Carriere posted a career-high 50 saves in a 1-1 tie with the Black Bears on December 4.
 
CATAMOUNTS LIKE TO GET AHEAD
Nine of the Catamounts 12 wins this season have come when they have scored first. Vermont is 8-1-0 this season when leading after the first period and 11-1-0 when leading after the second period.
 
INTERIM TAG DROPPED, COACH WIEDLER SIGNS 4-YEAR EXTENSION | FULL RELEASE
On Tuesday afternoon, UVM Athletics announced a four-year extension for Head Coach Steve Wiedler. Wiedler took over the program on an interim basis on July 18, 2023 and has led the Catamounts this season to a 12-15-3 record including three wins over ranked opponents and a current Pairwise ranking of 29th in the country. The Catamounts are on pace for their best-offensive season since 2016-17.
 
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