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MEN’S HOCKEY WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
The 12th-ranked University of Vermont men’s hockey team (9-3-2, 6-3-1 HEA) hosts the USA Under-18 Team at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Friday at 8 p.m. The game can be heard live on the flagship station for UVM hockey on WVMT-AM 620 and on the Internet on SportsJuice.com starting with the pre-game show at 7:30 p.m. Video streaming is available for Friday’s game on a pay-per-view basis via B2 Networks on www.UVMathletics.com.

STORY LINES
-No. 12 Vermont (9-3-2, 6-3-1 HEA) has won five straight games to move into sole possession of second place in Hockey East. UVM has 13 league points and trails only first place Northeastern (15 points). Last week the Catamounts picked up a 3-2 overtime win at No. 17 Massachusetts and a 3-2 victory at home against Maine. Junior Viktor Stålberg scored the tying goal with 56 seconds left in regulation and senior Peter Lenes notched the game winner with 23 seconds remaining in overtime in the victory at UMass. Sophomore Josh Burrows setup the tying goal and recorded the game winner in the third period in the victory against Maine.

-Vermont sophomore Chris Atkinson is a former member of the USA Under-18 Team. Atkinson recorded seven goals and 24 points in 39 games with the U.S. Development Team in 2004-05. He had 10 goals and 22 points in 13 games in 2005-06 with the USA U-18 Team before a near fatal, on-ice injury ended his season in February. Atkinson has since returned to the ice, playing in 37 career games for the Catamounts and he has recorded two goals and five assists. Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane, who was the 2007-08 NHL Rookie of the Year, was a teammate of Atkinson’s in 2005-06 with the USA U-18 Team.

-Junior Viktor Stålberg was named runner-up for Hockey East Player of the Month in November. Stålberg has the following ranks in Hockey East through 10 league games this season: tied for third in points (12), tied for seventh in goals (5), tied for fourth in assists (7), first in power-play points (7), tied for first in power-play goals (3) and tied for first in short-handed points (2). Senior Peter Lenes leads Vermont in overall scoring with 17 points (5g, 12a) and he ranks tied for 21st in the country in scoring. His 12 assists are tied for 18th most in the nation. Lenes ranks fifth among Hockey East players in overall scoring and he is tied for the second most assists.

POLL POSITION | USCHO.com Poll | INCH Rankings | KRACH Ratings
Vermont moved up to 12th in the latest USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll and USA Today/USA Hockey Poll released this week. Vermont jumped up to eighth in the latest Inside College Hockey Power Rankings. The Catamounts are also ranked second in the College Hockey News KRACH Ratings. The KRACH (Ken’s Ratings For American College Hockey) is a mathematically pure ratings system endorsed by College Hockey News. Vermont is 4-3-1 against ranked teams this season and according to the KRACH Ratings the Catamounts have played the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country.

SCOUTING USA U-18 | USA Hockey Website
The USA U-18 Team has gone 8-4-1 against college opponents this season … Jeremy Morin leads the team in scoring with 15 goals and 20 points in 20 games … Morin also has a team-high 70 penalty minutes … Cam Fowler has a team-high 13 assists … Drew Shore has added eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points … Ryan Bourque, the son of NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, has added 17 points (7g, 10a) … Ryan’s brother Chris Bourque plays for the Washington Capitals … Goaltender Adam Murray is 7-3-2 with a 3.25 goals against average and a .883 save percentage while Brandon Maxwell is 8-3-0 with a 3.27 goals against average and a .866 save percentage … The USA U-18 Team has wins over the Alaska-Anchorage, Harvard, RPI and Union … Two of their losses have come against Michigan and Alaska-Fairbanks.

LAST MEETING
Vermont last met the USA U-18 Team on Dec. 9, 2006. The Catamounts picked up a 7-1 victory. Peter Lenes and Colin Vock both scored two goals in the win for Vermont.

SIFERS, MINK GET NHL CALL UP
Former Catamounts Jaime Sifers ‘06 and Graham Mink ‘01 have been called up to the NHL. Sifers has been elevated to the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Graham Mink has been called up by the Washington Capitals.
Sifers had two goals and six points in 18 games with Toronto’s AHL affiliate the Toronto Marlies this season. Sifers was just the second three-time captain in Vermont’s history and played for the Catamounts from 2002-06. He played in 143 games in his career — collecting 15 goals and 55 assists. Mink had been playing for Washington’s AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, and was tied for 10th in the AHL in goals (10) and points (21) in 19 games. Mink played three games in the NHL with Washington in 2005-06 and appeared in two games with the Capitals in 2003-04. 
Mink, a Stowe, Vt. native, recorded 28 goals and 18 assists from 1998-01 with Vermont. Torrey Mitchell ‘07 (San Jose), Eric Perrin ‘97 (Atlanta), Martin St. Louis ‘97 (Tampa Bay), Patrick Sharp ‘02 (Chicago) and Tim Thomas ‘97 (Boston) are other former Catamounts in the NHL this season.

CLUTCH CATAMOUNTS
Vermont is 17-4 in one-goal games dating back to the start of last season following a 3-2 victory against Maine last Saturday. Two of the four losses came in overtime and the other one-goal defeats were at No. 4 Miami (L, 2-1, Oct. 12, 2007) and at No. 3 Boston College (L, 3-2, Oct. 24, 2008). This season Vermont is 7-1 in one-goal games. Since 2004-05 the Catamounts are 38-21 in one-goal games under head coach Kevin Sneddon.

COMEBACK CATS
Last week the Catamounts won back-to-back games when trailing after two periods. Vermont came from behind to defeat No. 17 UMass 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday and then rallied to defeat Maine 3-2 on Saturday at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Prior to the come-from-behind victories, Vermont had won just once in its previous 60 tries when trailing after 40 minutes.

POWER-PLAY PUNCH
Vermont is 10-for-36 on the power play in the last eight games (.288). The Catamounts rank ninth in the country on the man advantage at 19.7% (14/71). Vermont scored a total of 20 power-play goals in 2007-08 and they already have 14 this season. Viktor Stålberg ranks tied for first in Hockey East in power-play goals with three in 10 league games. He leads the conference in power-play points with seven (3g, 4a).

TOUGH COMPETITION
Vermont has played eight of its 14 games this season against ranked teams. Seven of those contests were against opponents ranked in the top-7 at the time of the meeting. The College Hockey News KRACH Ratings indicate that the Catamounts have played the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country so far this season. Vermont is 4-3-1 against ranked teams this year and 13-11-5 against ranked opponents dating back to the start of last season.

ROAD WARRIORS
Vermont is 6-1-1 away from Gutterson Fieldouse this season following a 3-2 overtime win at No. 17 UMass on Nov. 25. The Catamounts have outscored their opponents 25-17 on the road this season.

WEEKEND SWEEP
Vermont picked up back-to-back 4-3 wins at Agganis Arena against No. 2 Boston University on Nov. 21 and 22. The Catamounts became the first team to sweep a weekend series at BU in 16 years. Maine was the last team to win on consecutive days at Boston University, doing so on Nov. 20 and 21, 1992 at Walter Brown Arena. The Black Bears went 41-1-2 that season on their way to winning the national championship.

STALBERG NAMED HEA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Viktor Stålberg was named the Hockey East Player of the Week on Nov. 24 after leading Vermont to a weekend sweep at No. 2 Boston University with a pair of 4-3 wins on Nov. 21 and 22. Stålberg scored a shorthanded goal, registered three assists and had eight shots on a goal in the victories. Stålberg became the first Catamount to win a Hockey East weekly award this season and it marked the second time in his career he has been named the Hockey East Player of the Week.

MOVING IN ON 100
Senior captain Dean Strong has 93 points (31g, 62a) in 130 games in his career. Strong has played in every game in his career and is just seven points shy of becoming the 41st Catamount to reach the 100-point mark. Torrey Mitchell ’07, who now plays in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks, was the last Catamount to reach 100 points and did so in the 2006-07 season.

STRONG NUMBERS
Vermont is 44-13-13 in games that senior captain Dean Strong has recorded at least one point during his career. Conversely UVM is 18-35-7 in games when Strong does not record at least one point. Strong has 93 points in his career and ranks second on the team in assists this season with nine.

MORE MILO
Sophomore Justin Milo is tied for the team lead in goals with six and he ranks tied for ninth among Hockey East players in goal scoring. Milo has two game-winning goals on the year, to go along with a shootout winner against No. 4 Miami on Oct. 18 and a two-goal game against Rensselaer in Quebec City. His two game-winning goals rank tied for sixth most in the nation. Milo also plays for the UVM baseball team and led the Catamounts in batting average, hits, runs, slugging, RBI and tied for the team lead in home runs last spring. Milo was also named to the America East All-Conference Second Team and was named to the All-New England First-Team.

MORE OFFENSIVE
The Catamounts are 8-1-1 when scoring at least three goals this season and rank tied for 20th in the country in scoring offense at 3.00. Last season UVM averaged just 2.26 goals per game to rank 50th out of 59 Division I teams in scoring.

SCORE FOUR
Vermont is unbeaten in 42 straight games when scoring at least four goals following a 4-3 win over No. 2 Boston U. on Nov. 22. UVM's last loss when scoring at least four goals came on Jan. 24, 2004 in a 9-4 defeat at Colgate.

TOUGH TICKET
Vermont's sellout streak reached 65 consecutive games last season before coming to an end against St. Lawrence on Dec. 15, 2007. The streak was the longest in school history. The Catamounts have sold out 80 of their last 86 home games and 257 of the last 342 games overall at Gutterson Fieldhouse dating back to November of 1987.

HOME COOKING
Vermont is 356-255-42 all-time at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Catamounts are 49-35-16 at home under head coach Kevin Sneddon. Last year UVM went 10-7-4 at the Gut. This season the Catamounts are 3-2-1 at home.

OVERTIME
Vermont is 9-5-23 its last 37 overtime games following a 3-2 overtime win at No. 17 UMass on Nov. 25. The Catamounts went 1-2-7 in overtime contests last year. The seven ties were a new program record and the 10 overtime games matched a UVM single-season record. This season the Catamounts are 2-0-2 in overtime games.

OUT OF THE GATE
Vermont is 44-9-12 in its last 65 games when scoring first. Last season the Catamounts went 12-3-4 when scoring first. This year the Catamounts are 5-1-1 when scoring first.

CLOSERS
Vermont is 68-3-11 in its last 82 games when leading after two periods during the Kevin Sneddon era. Last season the Catamounts went 13-0-2 when leading after 40 minutes and this season UVM is 6-0-1 when leading after two periods.

TOUGH DRAW
Dean Strong has won 51-percent of his face offs this season and has won close to 55-percent of his draws in his career. Brian Roloff has won 53-percent of his face offs this season to lead the team.

OH CANADA
Vermont has three players from Canada on the roster this year. Senior Dean Strong is from Mississauga, Ontario, junior Bradyen Irwin is from Toronto, Ontario and sophomore Wahsontiio Stacey is from Kahnawake, Quebec.

CATAMOUNT DRAFT PICKS
Vermont has four players on its roster that have been drafted by an NHL franchise. Sophomore Kyle Medvec was a fourth-round selection (102 overall) by Minnesota in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Junior Viktor Stålberg was also drafted in 2006 by Toronto in the sixth-round (161 overall). Freshman Matt Marshall was a fifth-round pick by Tampa Bay in the 2007 draft (150 overall) while freshman Drew MacKenzie was selected in the seventh-round (209 overall) by Buffalo.

FAMILY TIES
Junior defenseman Patrick Cullity is the son of UVM Hall of Famer Tom Cullity '80. Tom played at Vermont from 1978-80 and was inducted into the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. Cullity had 55 goals and 47 assists for 102 points in 65 career games at Vermont. He ranks 36th on the all-time scoring list at UVM. Cullity holds the Vermont school record for power-play goals in a career with 38. He also holds the single- season record for power-play goals with 19 in both the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons. His 33 goals in the 1979-80 season are also the second most ever in a single-season at UVM.

HEAD OF THE CLASS
Jay Anctil, Chris Atkinson, Josh Burrows, Jonathan Higgins, Kyle Kuk, Dan Lawson, Justil Milo, Viktor Stålberg, Dean Strong and Slavomir Tomko were all named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team last season. Vermont also won its fourth straight America East Academic Cup in 2008. UVM student-athletes combined to post a 3.14 grade point average in 2007-08 as the Catamounts won their fifth academic cup in school history (1996, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008).

PROMOTIONS
On Friday fans will receive a pennant courtesy of Heritage Ford and Toyota and there will be a coupon giveaway to Mama Mia’s Pizzeria.

WHO’S NEXT
No. 12 Vermont travels to St. Lawrence for a 7 p.m. start next Saturday (Dec. 13).

2008-09 MEN’S HOCKEY TV SCHEDULE
(Dates, times and networks, subject to change)
Fri., Oct. 24 - at Boston College - 7:30pm - ESPNU
Sat., Nov. 1 - vs. Boston University - 7:00pm - CN8
Sat., Nov. 8 - at UMass-Lowell - 7:00pm - CN8
Tues., Nov. 25 - at Massachusetts - 7:30pm - CN8
Sat., Jan. 3 - Catamount Cup Consolation or Championship - 7:00pm - CN8*
Fri., Jan. 9 - vs. Boston College - 7:30pm - NESN
Sat. Jan. 10 - vs. Boston College - 7:00pm - CN8
Sat. Feb. 7 - vs. Providence - 7:00pm - CN8
Sat. Feb. 28 - at Maine - 7:00pm - WABI-TV
Sat. March 14 - HEA Quarterfinals (TBD, if necessary) - CN8
*If Vermont plays in the consolation game of the Catamount Cup the game will be aired on a tape delay basis at 7pm

WEBCASTING VIA B2 NETWORKS | B2 Networks
Watch all home Vermont men's hockey games live on the Internet via B2 Networks. View each game on a pay-per-view basis for $7.00 each or buy a season package for $75. Log onto www.UVMathletics.com for more information.

RADIO
All University of Vermont men’s hockey games will once again be broadcast live on WVMT AM-620. All men’s hockey games can also be heard on the Internet via SportsJuice.com by logging on the www.UVMathletics.com.

KEVIN SNEDDON COACHES’ CORNER AT BRENNAN’S PUB | Coaches' Corner Website
The University of Vermont athletic department in conjunction with WVMT-620 AM will be broadcasting a weekly “Coaches’ Corner” with Vermont men’s hockey coach Kevin Sneddon and UVM women’s basketball coach Sharon Dawley live from Brennan’s Pub in the Davis Center this season. The shows, which are free and open to the public and students, will take place on Monday’s from 6-7 p.m. during the academic year when Brennan’s is open. The segments with Sneddon and Dawley will also re-air on WVMT as part of the Charlie and Ernie morning show. Fans can hear Sneddon’s show on Wednesday’s at 9:30 a.m. and Dawley’s show will air on Thursday’s at 9:30 a.m. on WVMT. For more information log on to www.UVMathletics.com.

MEDIA GUIDES
The 2008-09 Vermont men's hockey media guides are now on sale for $10. Media guides are available inside Gutterson Fieldhouse and are available online at www.UVMathletics.com.

eSCORES
Get the results of your favorite Catamount teams minutes after the conclusion of the game via a text message on your cell phone. The eScores feature is available to anyone with a cell phone, regardless of cell phone service provider. Visit www.uvmathletics.com to sign up for the free service.

eNEWS
It's easy to stay up-to-date with the Catamounts. Sign up for the Vermont Men's Hockey E-News, offered free of charge by the Athletic Communications Office. Receive all the latest news and notes, as well as complete game summaries for every contest via your personal e-mail account. Log on to www.UVMathletics.com to sign up today.

PHOTO STORE
Catamount faithful can purchase athletic pictures at www.UVMathletics.com via the Vermont Photo Store. Pictures make a great gift for holidays, home wall art, or office decorations. Powered by Replay Photos, the website will feature pictures of all 20 sports, as well as new game action photos from the 2008-09 season. Every image has been captured by a professional photographer and is reproduced in three sizes (9 x 12, 12 x16, 15 x 20) framed, unframed, or gallery wrapped on canvas. A custom on-line framing system allows visitors to construct a variety of matting and framing options and view their product prior to purchase. Visit www.UVMathletics.com to view all product offerings.

UVM WALLPAPER
Vermont fans can get wallpaper to out on their computer screens to show their Catamount pride. The wallpaper is offered for every team at Vermont and will be updated as the year progresses. Log on to www.UVMathletics.com to get your wallpaper today.