MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Vermont (8-12-3, 3-7-2 HEA) continues the stretch run in Hockey East as they travel to the Whittemore Center for a two-game set against No. 18 New Hampshire (10-8-3, 2-7-2 HEA).
The teams will faceoff at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night. Both contests will air live on ESPN+ and the games will also be broadcast on WVMT with the voice of the Catamounts Adam LaFleur in the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth.
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KESSLER AND STRAND NAMED HOBEY BAKER NOMINEES
- First year forwards Colin Kessler and Max Strand were named nominees for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award on Wednesday.
- Kessler (9 Gl, 9 Ast) and Strand (6 Gl, 12 Ast) are tied for the team lead in scoring with 18 points apiece.
- Strand became the first men's player at Vermont to be named National Rookie of the Month in December.
- No rookie in the country had more points in December than Strand, who recorded a point in each of the Catamount's six games.
- Kessler is currently on a two-game scoring streak after scoring two third period goals against Northeastern in back-to-back contests last weekend.
- Fan voting for the Hobey Baker runs through March 9. Fans can vote for Strand and Kessler once a day at go.uvm.edu/vote25.
MANGBO SHUTTING THE DOOR
- Sophomore goaltender Axel Mangbo is one of three goalies (Jacob Fowler – BC, Michael Hrabal - UMass) with two or more 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 win over No. 20 UMass on Nov. 24.
- Mangbo has started 11 of the Catamounts last 12 games.
- In the month of December, he posted a 3-2-0 record with a .916 save percentage and 1.83 goals-against average.
PAIRWISE OR HOCKEY EAST STANDINGS
- Entering this weekend's action all 11 Hockey East teams are in the top-33 of the Pairwise.
- There are currently five league teams in the top-10 of the Pairwise with Boston College coming in at No. 1.
- New Hampshire enters this weekend ranked 16th, despite sitting in last place in Hockey East, while the Catamounts are 33rd.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
- The Wildcats enter the weekend's action in 11th place in Hockey East with nine points in 11 games. The Catamounts enter the series five points ahead of UNH.
- Like Vermont UNH enters this critical weekend set having dropped four straight league contests (Both teams dropped an OT contest in that streak, earning a point).
- Sophomore forward Ryan Conmy leads the Wildcats in scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points. He scored the opening goal in UNH's 6-3 win over the Catamounts on Jan. 27, 2024.
- Jens Richards led all Catamounts with three goals against UNH last season, including a shorthanded tally.
- Friday marks the 128th meeting between Vermont and New Hampshire. UNH holds an 84-32-11 record in the series, bolstered by a 32-4-0 record to begin the series.
- Since Coach Wiedler has been in Catamount Country Vermont is 5-2-1 against the Wildcats.
- The series dates to UVM's first varsity season. Vermont played New Hampshire in its third-ever game, losing 6-3 in Durham.
CATAMOUNTS LEADERSHIP GROUP
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 23 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
