Michigan
Vermont
U-M Opens Up Home Schedule against Vermont
10/18/2017 8:01:00 PM | Ice Hockey
THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 20 -- vs Vermont (Yost Ice Arena), 7:30 p.m.
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Saturday, Oct. 21 -- vs Vermont (Yost Ice Arena), 5 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan ice hockey team opens up its 2017-18 home schedule with a pair of games against Vermont this weekend (Oct. 20-21) at Yost Ice Arena.
The Vermont Series
ÂMichigan and Vermont meet for the second time in program history since the series began in 2016 and the first time at Yost. The Wolverines are 0-1-0 all-time against the Catamounts. U-M lost its only game against Vermont last October, when the Wolverines were shut out 3-0 in Burlington.
Scouting the Catamounts
Finishing at 20-13-5 (10-8-4 Hockey East) last season, the Catamounts posted their highest regular-season league finish (sixth) since 2009 when they were the No. 4 seed. Vermont posted double-digit Hockey East wins for the third time in the last four seasons, doing so for the first time since winning at least 10 league games five straight years from 2005-09. UVM faced a ranked team 16 times last season and posted a 6-6-4 record in those matchups. Vermont had a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) and a five-game winning streak during the regular season.
Vermont was picked to finish sixth in Hockey East this season as the league's annual Preseason Coaches Poll. It marks UVM's highest preseason selection by the coaches in six years.
Catamounts This Year
Vermont travels to Ann Arbor with a 2-2-0 record. The Catamounts opened their season with a 3-0 win over Colorado College at home. After recording an 18-10-5 record as a freshman last season, sophomore Stefanos Lekkas recorded 33 saves in Vermont's shutout win, the third of his career.
The Catamounts followed up their season-opening win with a 4-3 loss to Colorado College. Last Friday, Vermont fell to Quinnipiac, 3-2 in OT, then followed up with a 3-2 win at Union on Saturday.
Ross Colton leads the Catamounts with four goals on the year, while Craig Puffer has contributed with two goals and one assist.
Lekkas has started all four games in net with a 2-2 record, 2.24 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.
Opening Weekend Recap
The Wolverines opened their season with a 3-1 road win against St. Lawrence on Friday, Oct. 6, marking Mel Pearson's first victory as Michigan's head coach. Freshman Quinn Hughes and graduate transfer Alex Roos each scored their first goal in the winged helmet while freshmen Jack Becker and Josh Norris each recorded assists in their Michigan debuts.
Sophomore Jack LaFontaine earned the win as goaltender, recording 24 saves for the Wolverines. One night later on Saturday, Oct. 7, Michigan fell 3-0 in a road game against Clarkson. The Maize and Blue went 5-for-6 on the penalty kill and sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne made 16 saves in the loss. After its opening weekend, Michigan has a 1-1-0 overall record.
Up Ahead
The Maize and Blue will kick off the Big Ten schedule when they travel to Penn State (Oct. 27-28) to face off against the defending B1G Tournament Champions. The Nittany Lions ended Michigan's season last year with a 4-1 victory in the conference quarterfinals at Joe Louis Arena, en route to Penn State's first conference crown in program history.
