STORRS, Conn. – The Catamounts forward unit of Blake Steenerson, Jens Richards and Colin Kessler each had two points Saturday evening as the Catamounts topped the 11th ranked Connecticut Huskies 4-2 in Hockey East action from the Toscano Family Ice Forum in a contest broadcast on NESN.

RELATED LINKS
Box Score
NESN Interview: Kessler | Wiedler
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"What a response by our guys," said Head Coach Steve Wiedler. "Aiden Wright battling through sickness.  Kessler getting the monkey off his back.  I could name something every player did to contribute to a big road win.  Honestly though, that was an all-around team effort. Just did the little things the right way. That is not an easy rink to play in and that's a really good UConn team. One of our best complete games of the season. Proud of our Catamounts."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Vermont opened the scoring on Saturday as they jumped all over the Huskies early. Colin Kessler scored his first goal of the season 3:56 into the contest. Blake Steenerson entered the UConn zone and fired a shot towards the net and Tyler Muszelik kicked the rebound out to the point. Jens Richards quickly fired it back towards the net and Kessler redirected it on goal. Muszelik again made the initial stop, but the rebound caromed off a UConn defender and went in.
• The Huskies equalized 35 seconds into the second period on a two-on-two rush. Joey Muldowney setup Jake Richard for a one-timer with a great cross-ice feed and Richard blew it by Aiden Wright for his sixth goal of the year.
• UConn pulled ahead 3:05 later with Tristan Fraser's third goal of the season. Wright made an initial stop on Tabor Heaslip, but the rebound came right to Fraser and he jammed it home.
• Daniel Sambuco equalized for the Catamounts 56 seconds later. He forced a turnover after a UConn offensive faceoff win and turned on the afterburners. As he cut to the net his initial shot was stopped by Muszelik but it popped high in the air. A UConn defender tried to scoop it out of the crease area but inadvertently directed it into the net.
• Kessler helped Vermont regain the lead with a great individual effort. He intercepted a pass between the two UConn defenders and broke in alone on Muszelik. He waited for Muszelik to make a move and then snapped the shot past him to make it 3-2 with 2:45 to play in the second.
• Steenerson added an insurance marker for the Catamounts with 8:40 to play in the third period. Richards and Steenerson broke into the UConn zone on a two-on-one rush. Richards fed a perfect cross-crease pass to Steenerson and he tapped home his third goal of the season to make it 4-2.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Colin Kessler is the Catamounts leading scorer this season, he has 15 points with two goals and 13 assists.
• Vermont is now 5-0-0 this season when leading after two periods.
• The Catamounts have topped four ranked Hockey East teams this season – UConn, Northeastern (x2), Maine and Boston University.
• The Catamounts held the Huskies without a shot for the first 10:10 of the first period. Vermont outshot UConn 13-4 in the opening frame.
• First year goaltender Aiden Wright has won four straight games for Vermont. In those four games he has given up just seven goals while maintaining a 1.75 GAA and .939 save percentage.
• With this evening's 4-2 decision, Community Bank N.A. will donate $200 to Special Olympics Vermont. Community Bank, N.A. donates $50 per goal to Special Olympics Vermont for every goal the men's and women's team scores this season.
• With tonight's Win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to the Ronald McDonald House through the Cat's Win, Community Win's initiative. Vermont Mutual has donated over $6 Million Dollars since launching their Charitable Giving Fund in 2014.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts return home next weekend for a two-game series hosting UMass at historic Gutterson Fieldhouse. The clubs will faceoff at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 23-24). Friday is the Catamounts annual Rally Around Mental Health Game presented by Redstone Lofts. Rally Around Mental Health rally towels will be available at the marketing table.
 
Saturday is NBT Bank Night and the first 500 fans will receive a free co-branded beanie, courtesy of NBT Bank. Students can also receive a free co-branded koozie, courtesy of Anheuser-Busch.
 
Rob Ryan will have the call on ESPN+, while an international feed is available ($) via Stretch Internet. Owen Gund will have the radio call on the Varsity Network and WVMT.
 
RALLY BEFORE THE RINK – FEB. 6 AT BOSTON COLLEGE
Join the Catamounts in Chestnut Hill for a pregame gathering at Cityside Tavern (1960 Beacon St., Brighton, Mass.) on Friday, February 6 from 5-6:30 p.m. before UVM faces Boston College at Conte Forum. RSVP today at go.uvm.edu/mihatbc. A UVM specific ticket block is available at gofevo.com/event/Universityvermont5.

For news and updates about the Vermont men's hockey program, follow @UVMmhockey on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.