BURLINGTON, Vt. - Vermont men's hockey head coach Steve Wiedler announced his team's leadership group for the 2024-25 campaign on Monday afternoon. Will Zapernick and Joel Määttä will serve as captains while Jens Richards will be an alternate.
 
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Zapernick will serve as a team captain for the second straight season for the Catamounts. Last season he skated in all 35 games for Vermont registering three goals and nine assists for 12 points. He led the Catamounts with 37 blocked shots and was third on the team with 66 shots on goal.
 
"Having Will back for his fifth year with us is huge for our program," said Wiedler. "He bleeds Green and Gold. He embodies what it means to be a Catamount. Our younger players will certainly be the beneficiaries of his experience, work ethic, and tenacity."
 
After two seasons as an alternate captain Määttä will don a C this year, becoming the 65th player in program history to do so. Määttä skated in 26 games last season putting up four goals and nine points. In the last ten games of the season, he had three goals and three assists for the Catamounts.
 
"Joel has become a great two-way center within Hockey East over the last few years," stated Wiedler. "His ability to play in every situation speaks to his mentality and leadership as a three-year letter wearer for us.  For our coaching staff up a goal, down a goal, or tied late in a game it is a no brainer to put #9 on the ice for the Catamounts."
 
Last season Richards let the team in scoring with a team-high 10 goals and 21 points. He skated in all 24 Hockey East contests for Vermont posting nine goals and 17 points in league action.
 
"You want to talk about developing within our program, well, Jens has been the definition of that over the last two seasons," continued Wiedler. "It is obvious when watching him play what his skill set on the ice is, but what some fans may not get to see is what a good human he is off the ice.  His peers voting him into an alternate captain position within our program speaks to that."
 
The Catamounts open the 2024-25 campaign Sunday, October 6 as they welcome McGill to Gutterson Fieldhouse on Opening Night presented by TD Bank. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. the first 300 fans will receive a free UVM shirt courtesy of TD Bank. All the action will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Tickets are available now at https://go.uvm.edu/ct6.
 
For more news 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