VERMONT WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont women's hockey team opens the 2015-16 regular season hosting No. 9 Bemidji State this weekend at Gutterson Fieldhouse in a two-game non-conference series. The Catamounts will face the Beavers at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and again at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
 
RELATED LINKS
Friday vs. #9 Bemidji State – Live Video (free) | Live Stats
Saturday vs. #9 Bemidji State – Live Video (free) | Live Stats
 
STARTING AGAINST SOME OF THE BEST
The Catamounts open the season with four games against teams ranked in the USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll with No. 5 Clarkson and No. 9 Bemidji State. Last season the Catamounts won their first game of the season with a 3-1 win at No. 7 North Dakota. In the last two seasons Coach Plumer has led the Catamounts to four wins over ranked teams.
 
BURLINGTON FREE PRESS PREVIEWS THE 15-16 CAMPAIGN
Ted Ryan of the Burlington Free Press takes a look at the five questions the Catamounts need to account for this season, click here for the full story. The Free Press also featured the successful transition Dayna Colang made to forward last season, as Amanda Drobot makes the switch this year.
 
CATAMOUNTS HOLD ANNUAL MEDIA DAY
On Wednesday the Catamounts held their annual Media Day with members of the local media on campus to speak with Coach Plumer, Gina Repaci, Madison Litchfield and Dayna Colang. Click here to hear Coach Plumer's comments on the state of the team heading into the season.
 
COACH PLUMER SEEKING HIS 200th WIN
The Catamounts first win of the 2015-16 campaign will also mark the 200^th win in Coach Plumer's coaching career. 41 of Coach Plumer's wins have come at Vermont, which is a three-year record for a coach of the Catamounts, the previous mark was 25.
 
GORECKI STARTS STRONG AGAINST McGILL
Freshman forward Alyssa Gorecki had an impressive start to her first season last Sunday against McGill. She scored the lone goal for the Catamounts and led the team with four shots.
 
LEVEILLEE QUICK AT THE DRAW
Junior forward Casey Leveillee was dominant in the faceoff circle Sunday winning seven of the nine faceoffs she took. She was the only player on either team to win over 60% of the draws they took.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
#9 Bemidji State Beavers: The Beavers come to Burlington with a 1-0-1 record on the season after skating to a 3-1 win and 4-4 tie with Robert Morris at home last weekend. At #9 in the country it is the Beavers highest ranking since 2011-12.
 
Last season the Beavers won a program-record 21 games and they return 21 players from that squad including their top three scorers in Kaitlyn Tougas, Stephanie Anderson, and Ivana Bilic. The Beavers also have CCM/ACHA All-American goaltender Brittni Mowat back this season.
 
Last season Mowat posted a 19-13-1 record with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage. She posted seven shutouts including a 4-0 win against Vermont last October.
 
Bemidji State was picked fourth by the coaches in the preseason WCHA poll.
 
Vermont is 0-4-1 in five all-time meetings with the Beavers.
 
FORMER CATAMOUNT PELKEY NAMED TO FOUR NATIONS CUP ROSTER
On Thursday afternoon it was announced that Amanda Pelkey will once again be a member of the U.S. National Women's Team for the 2015 Four Nations Cup. The annual tournament will be held November 4-8 in Sundsvall and Kovland, Sweden.
 
TEAM LEADERS
Senior Gina Repaci and junior Sarah Kelly will serve as co-captains for the University of Vermont women's hockey team this season.
 
CATAMOUNTS SELECTED SEVENTH IN HOCKEY EAST PRESEASON POLL
Boston College, last years regular season champion, was selected to win the 2016 Hockey East Title, in the 14th season of play. The Eagles received eight first-place votes and 64 points overall. Boston U was selected second with one first-place vote and 57 points overall. Northeastern was third with 50 points followed by Maine (34 points), Connecticut (32 points), New Hampshire (30 points), Vermont (29 points), Providence (20 points) and Merrimack (8 points).
 
NON-CONFERENCE RECORD LAST SEASON
The Catamounts will look to replicate their success from last season in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Vermont's nine wins last year against teams outside its league set a new program record. Vermont started the year 6-2-1 last season with five of those wins against teams outside of Hockey East.
 
ALL ACROSS THE MAP
The Catamounts have players from 10 different states (Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont), two Canadian provinces (Alberta and Ontario) and two other countries (Czech Republic and Finland). Vermont has four players from Ontario more than any other state or province.
 
3RD ANNUAL PACK THE GUT CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY THE WINDJAMMER
The Vermont women's hockey team will host the third annual "Pack the Gut Challenge Presented by The Windjammer" on Friday January 29 as they face Connecticut.
 
The goal this is to break the single game Hockey East attendance record of 2,028 fans, set by Vermont in 2013, and support the local Meals on Wheels organization. 
 
HOMECOMING WEEKEND
Former Student-Athlete Reception - Halvorson's Upstreet Café Friday, October 2 - 5-7 p.m.
Former Catamount student-athletes are invited to join current athletic coaches and staff at Halvorson's Upstreet Cafe for a reception to mingle. Light hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be provided. For more information, please contact the Victory Club Office at802-656-0956 or victory.club@uvm.edu.
 
PROMOTIONS
Saturday's game at 4 p.m. against Bemidji State will be a Cat Pride Club Appreciation Day, fans can earn double points by checking in at the game.
 
The 2015-16 Vermont women's hockey campaign is brought to you by the Windjammer Restaurant and Inn.