MEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
Vermont (11-20-3, 6-16-2 HEA) is on the road to TD Garden in the 2025 Hockey East Tournament. The Catamounts will head to Amherst to face the six-seed and 14th ranked UMass Minutemen (19-12-5, 10-9-5 HEA) Wednesday, March 12 in the Hockey East Opening Round. Eric Gallanty and Jim Connelly will be on the call on NESN. The action from the Mullins Center will also be simulcast on ESPN+. It will also be broadcast on WVMT and the Varsity Network with the voice of the Catamounts Adam LaFleur and former Catamount Martin Wilde '01 in the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth.
 
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CATAMOUNTS IN THE HEA OPENING ROUND

• Vermont is 9-6 all-time in Hockey East's first round, with a 5-1 record at Gutterson Fieldhouse and a 4-5 record on the road.
• The format has shifted from one-game to a best-of-three series and back to a single-game, the Catamounts have made nine appearances total in the Opening Round advancing five times to the Quarterfinals.
• In 2023 as the 11-seed the Catamounts defeated the six-seed Maine 4-2 to advance to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2017. Isak Walther notched the game-winner for UVM on the power play with 6:05 to play in the third period.
• Last season the Catamounts traveled to the eight-seed UConn and dropped a 4-1 contest in Storrs. UConn took the lead with 6:07 left in regulation and added two late goals to top Vermont. Thomas Sinclair scored the Catamounts goal.

PLAYOFF HISTORY WITH UMASS

• The Catamounts and Minutemen have met on two other occasions in the Hockey East Opening Round.
• In 2014 Vermont hosted UMass in the single game format. The Catamounts triumphed 2-1 with Connor Brickley '14 notching the game-winner with 1:07 left in regulation.
• In 2018 the teams faced off in the best-of-three format at the Mullins Center. UMass took game one 3-2 in overtime then the Catamounts responded with a 4-3 overtime win which featured Cory Thomas '21 scoring his first career goal 12 seconds into the extra session. In the third and decisive contest UMass topped Vermont 5-1.

MAATTA GOING OUT WITH SCORING BANG

• Senior co-captain Joel Määttä has five goals and six assists for 11 points over UVM's last 10 games.
• With his recent form he is now the Catamounts leading scorer this season with nine goals and 18 assists for 27 points.

SPITSEROV HEATING UP

• Senior forward Timofei Spitserov now leads the team in scoring with 12 goals this season.
• His 12 goals are a career-high and the most by a Catamount in a single season since Colorado Avalanche forward Ross Colton '18 had 16 during the 2017-18 campaign.
• UVM is 6-2-1 this season when Spitserov scores.

PLAYING WITH THE LEAD

• Vermont is 8-0-3 this season when leading after two periods.
• When leading after the opening frame the Catamounts are 6-3-1.
• The Catamounts have won three games this season when tied after the first period and second period.

ROAD WARRIORS

• The Catamounts 4-2 road win over Merrimack Feb. 14 was their eighth road win of the season.
• The eight road wins are the most by UVM since they had nine during the 2015-16 campaign.

SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN

• The Minutemen are ranked No. 14 in the country and are statistically a virtual lock for their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven years as they sit tied for 10th in the Pairwise.
• UMass enters the postseason on a high note, they are 5-1-3 in their last nine games including wins over No. 1 Boston College, No. 4 Maine, and No. 15 UMass Lowell.
• Junior forward Cole O'Hara is tied for third in the NCAA with 49 points this season. In the final game of the regular season, he had a 13-game point streak snapped. During the streak he amassed 13 goals and nine assists.
• The Nashville Predators fourth round draft pick had zero points in his three games against Vermont this season. He was only held off the scoresheet seven times this season.
• UVM is 4-0-1 in its last five games against UMass, in all five contests the Minutemen have been ranked.
• Northeastern (Jan. 11) and Vermont (Nov. 9) are the only two teams this season to shutout the Minutemen.

ALWAYS READY TO GO

• Among players returning this season to Catamount Country, two players played in all 35 games during the 2023-24 season, Will Zapernick and Timofei Spitserov. Zapernick has also played in all 34 contests this season.
• Zapernick is the all-time career leader in games played at Vermont with 149.

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