The University of Vermont Catamounts swept Clarkson and St. Lawrence on the road for the first time since 1997 and recorded their first two road wins of 2003-04 last weekend, topping Clarkson, 2-0, Friday and St. Lawrence, 3-1, Saturday. Coach Kevin Sneddon's Catamounts, 6-19-4 overall and 4-13-1 in ECAC play, returns home this weekend to host Yale Friday and Princeton Saturday in the final home series of the regular season. Vermont finishes out the ECAC campaign on Feb. 27 and 28 at Harvard and league-leading Brown.

NOTES AND QUOTES: Travis Russell stopped 64 of 65 shots he faced last weekend, recording his first career shutout at Clarkson. He was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week Monday for his fine play. Russell collected the puck from the Clarkson game and the St. Lawrence game, and the team presented both mementos to injured goalie Matt Hanson at Fletcher Allen Health Care on Sunday .. In his last six games, Russell has allowed nine goals and recorded 171 saves. In that span, he has a 1.47 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage .. Vermont's three senior student-athletes, captain Oriel McHugh and classmates Tom Child and Jeff Miles, along with senior manager Krys Hettrick, will be honored following the Princeton game with an on-ice ceremony .. Senior Jeff Miles had a goal and three assists last weekend and now has 119 career points .. Miles, 4-6-10 in his last seven games, is now tied for 23rd on Vermont's all-time scoring list with Hall of Famer Will MacKinnon. He needs six points to finish in the top 20 .. Brady Leisenring is tied for sixth in the ECAC in scoring with 30 points in 29 games .. Miles is tied for ninth in the league in scoring with 29 points in 27 games, and is tied for 10th in power-play points with 14 (4-10-14) .. Sophomore captain Jaime Sifers is tied for sixth in the ECAC among defensemen in scoring with two goals and 13 assists for 15 points .. Vermont is fifth in the ECAC in power-play efficiency, scoring 29 goals in 155 attempts (18.7 percent) .. The Catamounts are 4-7-3 at home this season .. Three of Vermont's last five games at Gutterson Fieldhouse have gone into overtime .. Yale leads the all-time series with Vermont, 26-21-4. The Bulldogs have won four straight and three of the last four at Gutterson .. Vermont leads the all-time series with Princeton, 34-14-2 .. Cats have won two of the last three, and are 6-2-0 in the last eight games at Gutterson .. The Catamounts are 3-1-0 in games when the shots on goal are even. One of those wins was against Clarkson Friday night, when each team recorded 24 shots .. Vermont has won more games at Clarkson's Cheel Arena - eight - than any other ECAC team .. The last Vermont shutout came on Jan. 19, 2002 when Shawn Conschafter blanked the Golden Knights .. Conschafter also had the last point recorded by a Catamount goalie, an assist against Harvard on Feb. 22, 2003. Russell assisted on Leisenring's empty-net goal Friday night at Clarkson .. Some great promotions coming up this weekend as Director of Marketing and Promotions Krista Balogh continues her outstanding work. For the Yale game on Friday, Feb. 20, all fans will receive a special coupon from Dick's Sporting Goods, good for $10 off any order of $50 or more. And on Saturday, it will be Burlington Free Press Cheer Card Giveaway Night, with all fans getting nice cards that can be autographed by the players following the game, when all the Catamounts will gather in the lobby for an autograph session .. Philadelphia's John LeClair very much enjoys playing with new linemate Michael Handzus, and it shows. LeClair is clicking with the creative forward and had a goal and an assist Saturday in Philadelphia's win over the New York Rangers. In that same game, Patrick Sharp had a pair of goals, giving him four on the season. The 22-year-old former Catamount is now wearing #9 for the Flyers, the same number he wore with the AHL's Philadelphia Phantoms. Following injuries to Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau, Sharp's ice time has gone up. "This is an opportunity for Patrick Sharp to play on a regular basis on a good line," Philadelphia coach Ken Hitchcock said. "We've had him up there in flashes, but he'll get a regular shift and get significant time." That new plan began Saturday, with Sharp seeing plenty of time, including some shifts on the power play. He was a plus-three in nearly 15 minutes of action .. Join the Vermont Men's Hockey E-news! If you know someone who might like to receive these weekly notes, along with game stories and special releases, send their email address to gordon.woodworth@uvm.edu and we will add them to the growing list of parents, friends, former teammates and fans .. Join the popular Coaches Circle for some great benefits at home games. Among the advantages of the Coaches Circle are entry into the newly renovated Bostwick Room before games and between periods, where you can enjoy light hors d'ouerves and listen to a pre-game scouting report by a member of the Catamount coaching staff. Check it out at the next home game and join the many supporters of Vermont men's hockey in the Coaches Circle. SHARP SHINES FOR FLYERS: Tim Panaccio's story from the Philadelphia Inquirer in Sunday, Feb. 15th. PHILADELPHIA -- When the Flyers sent Justin Williams to Carolina, general manager Bob Clarke said he could afford to do so because Patrick Sharp was on his way to being an everyday player in the NHL. Near the end of the first period against the New York Rangers yesterday at the Wachovia Center, Sharp, who is penciled in as Jeremy Roenick's replacement, showed what he was capable of doing. The 22-year-old stole a pass from Jan Hlavac at neutral ice, then dodged a double team from Matthew Barnaby and Greg deVries on the right boards. Moving with the puck, he put a spin move on Petr Nedved, bringing the puck inside the Rangers' zone. Sharp dropped the puck to Sami Kapanen, and a few passes later, it was in the net off Radovan Somik's stick for a Flyers goal. While Sharp didn't get an assist, he did much of the work that led to the goal. Sharp eventually scored two goals and even had a fight in the Flyers' 6-2 rout. "I was just trying to get the puck deep on the game's first goal," and to "establish the forecheck," he said. "I don't look at this as pressure to fill in for Jeremy," Sharp said. "The only pressure is what I put on myself. It's not one player, it's a team of players." Sharp, who has four goals, was a season-high plus-3 with nearly 15 minutes of ice time. Sharp "is a smart player," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He has a head to compete in the NHL. He does a lot of things at the end of the night only a coach would notice. This was a good start for him to wear the pressure of trying to cover for Jeremy until he gets back." Sharp's first goal, in the second period, was unassisted. It resulted from a face-off with Bobby Holik. The draw deflected off deVries and into the net at 14:39. Sharp added his second goal five minutes later with a rebound in the slot. He began the play himself, tossing the puck to the point from below the goal line. "Goals are tough to come by," Sharp said. "I will take them when I can get them. On my first goal, I really beared down on my forehand and Holik beared down on his backhand." Sharp was to bear down with his knuckles against Dan LaCouture in the third period. "Believe me, I wasn't looking for it," Sharp said of the fight. "We paired off and he looked like he wanted to fight." Things got physical in that period. Donald Brashear and Barnaby got into it, and a fracas erupted. Brashear chased Holik all over the ice, an obvious gesture of "beware" after Holik's hit Thursday on Keith Primeau. Primeau missed yesterday's game, still suffering from fatigue. "We wanted to send a message," Brashear said. "He hit one of our players. You have to let him know." When Brashear dropped Barnaby, a fellow Rangers enforcer, Dale Purinton, jumped Brashear from behind. The Rangers were never in the game. After Somik's goal, John LeClair added his 17th a little more than a minute later, as the line of LeClair, Michal Handzus and Mark Recchi worked magic again with five points. The line has 48 points in the last 16 games. The play began when Recchi went around the defense and up the left side, into the New York zone, and sent the puck across the slot to Handzus. Handzus quickly found LeClair alone at the right post, and the left winger tapped it by goalie Mike Dunham for a 2-0 lead. The Flyers struck for four goals in the second period to make it a rout."Everything we shot went into the net that period," Hitchcock said. "Pucks that went off four people ended up in the goal." The goals included one by Handzus at 3:32, on a power play, that made it 3-0. LeClair took several whacks at the puck with Dunham lying on his back. One of the hits caused the puck to jump over to Handzus. He whacked at it, and the puck rolled across Dunham's chest, over his arm, and into the net. The Flyers also got a goal in the period from Tony Amonte, his 15th, and two from Sharp, which were sandwiched around a Rangers power-play goal by Chris Simon. Alexei Kovalev scored for New York in the third period, but Sharp had put the game out of reach. Roenick and Primeau are big losses, Recchi said, "but this kid really stepped up and competed at a high level today. He is a terrific player. Two goals and a fight."