MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont (11-12-1) men's hockey team continues Hockey East play this weekend as they travel to the Tsongas Center to face UMass Lowell (7-17-2) in a two-game set. Puck drop is set for 7:15 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday night. Friday and Saturday's contests will air live on ESPN+. 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
Watch Live on ESPN+: Friday | Saturday
International Broadcast ($)
Listen Live: WVMT
Live Stats
 
CRUCIAL STRETCH AHEAD IN THE STANDINGS
The Catamounts will face Merrimack and UMass Lowell in their four games. Vermont currently sits in ninth place in Hockey East, with 16 points. Merrimack is four points behind the Catamounts and the River Hawks are one back of the Warriors. Northeastern currently holds the eight slot, which secures the final home contest for the Hockey East Opening Round (March 13). The surging Huskies have won five of their last six league contests and currently sit at 20 points. Northeastern has played three additional Hockey East games in comparison to the Catamounts.
 
RICHARDS HAS A JANUARY TO REMEMBER
Since returning from injury on January 6 the Catamounts sophomore forward Jens Richards has been on a scoring tear. He's currently in the midst of a career-best seven game point streak. Over the last seven games he has posted four goals and four assists for eight points. He is also has three goals over his last two games for Vermont. Overall Richards is second on the team in scoring with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points, all three categories are already career-highs for the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota native.
 
BUCHELER LEADING THE BACKLINE
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 is tied for the team lead 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. His 12 points (8 Gl, 4 Ast) are third-best on the team.
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
The River Hawks have lost five games in a row, and eight of their last nine contests. Over that stretch they have given up 45 goals, an average of five per game. UMass Lowell's last league win came on December 3 at Vermont. Last Saturday they fell 6-1 at home to #1 Boston College.
 
Forwards Owen Cole (Jr.) and Nick Rheaume (So.) are tied for the team lead in scoring with nine goals for the River Hawks. Cole is tied with Scott Truman (So.) for the team lead in points with 16. Rheaume assisted on the opening goal against the Catamounts on December 3.
 
The River Hawks have gone with a two-goalie system this year with Henry Welsch (.910 Sv%, 2.48 GAA) and Luke Pavicich (.881 Sv%, 3.73 GAA) each seeing action in 14 games this season. Welsch is the only one to earn a Hockey East win this season. In his last three games against Vermont over the last two seasons he has stopped 63 of the 64 shots he faced, including two shutouts at the Tsongas Center in November of 2022.
 
CATAMOUNTS RETURN HOME FEBRUARY 17 FOR VERMONT NIGHT PRESENTED BY VERMONT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
The Catamounts return to the Gut next weekend to face the Merrimack Warriors in a pivotal two-game set. Friday February 17 at 7 p.m. UVM will face the Warriors on Vermont Night presented by Vermont Federal Credit Union. The Catamounts will be wearing special edition beige and green 802 jerseys that will be auctioned off following the game. In addition, several of our Vermont based partners will have special giveaways.

• Vermont National Country Club will be tabling and raffling off a free golf foursome
• Cabot will be distributing free cheese at the entrances
• Lake Champlain Chocolates will be tabling and giving away chocolate and 250 shirts
• Skida will be sponsoring a luck row giveaway where 10 fans will receive a flannel bandana 

Get your tickets now for the weekend series at https://go.uvm.edu/tix24.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Catamounts are 16-40-8 all-time against the River Hawks and 6-20-3 on the road when facing UMass Lowell. The River Hawks are 12-0-1 in the last 13 meetings with the Catamounts. Vermont's last win in the series came on January 20, 2018 in a 6-3 UVM triumph at Gutterson Fieldhouse. On December 3 at the Gut Lowell used two goals in under two minutes in the first period to defeat UVM 2-1 in a game broadcast on NESN. Timofei Spitserov scored the Catamounts only goal of the contest.
 
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