WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts return home Friday (Feb. 1) for the annual Pack the Gut challenge at 7 p.m. when they look to break the Hockey East regular season attendance record (2,136 fans) against the eighth-ranked Boston University Terriers.
 
UVM continues the weekend Sunday (Feb. 3) at 1 p.m. with a road game against Holy Cross, which will be televised on NESN and streamed on NESNgo or TSN Direct for Canadian followers.
 
RELATED LINKS
Friday (Feb. 1) vs. BU: Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes
Sunday (Feb. 3) at Holy Cross: NESN Channel Listings | NESNgo | TSN Direct | Live Stats 
 
PACK THE GUT (presented by The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub)
Friday marks the sixth time that the Catamounts have hosted the Pack the Gut challenge. The goal is to break the Hockey East attendance record, which was set by Vermont on Feb. 3, 2017 in the fourth annual Pack the Gut challenge. All tickets are on sale for $2. Presented by The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub, this year's push to break the record will benefit Kayla's Directory. Kayla has been a member of the Vermont women's hockey team since 2015 through Team Impact.
 
COACH PLUMER ON 101.3 THE GAME TO PROMOTE PACK THE GUT
Head coach Jim Plumer joined Brady Farkas on the "Cats Den" Tuesday (Jan. 22) at 101.3 the Game to promote the upcoming Pack the Gut challenge. The conversation ranged from previewing the annual game, the state of the program and more. Click here to listen to the show.
 
SCOUTING THE #8 TERRIERS
Boston University enters Gutterson Fieldhouse with a 14-6-6 (11-5-5 WHEA) record through 26 games for third in the league and eighth in the USCHO national poll. Jesse Compher paces the offense with 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in her sophomore season. The BU forward leads Hockey East in points and has the third highest total in the country. Her teammate Sammy Davis has a team-high 17 goals, which is third most in Hockey East. The Terriers' captain currently sits fifth on the Hockey East points list. BU is a high-powered offensive team scoring at a rate of 3.08 games, which is the 12th-most in the country. Their power play (23.0%) leads Hockey East and is the fourth best unit in the nation. Corinne Schroeder is the expected goaltender with a .931 SV%, 1.92 GAA, and 11-5-6 record in 22 starts.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's Pack the Gut challenge will be the 48th all-time meeting between the Catamounts and Boston University. Vermont has a 9-31-7 record against the Terriers dating back to Jan. 27, 1996 when the Cats scored a program-high 17 goals in a shutout victory. UVM is 3-4-3 in the last 10 games against Boston University, but only three of those contests have taken place in Vermont. BU won the last game played at Gutterson Fieldhouse 3-1 – Saana Valkama scored the lone goal and Melissa Black registered 21 saves. The two teams met in November at Walter Brown Arena where BU took the first game (Nov. 16) and the Catamounts rallied in the third period the following day to force a tie. Ève-Audrey Picard buried the game-tying goal with 1:31 left as Vermont brought on the extra attacker to force overtime.
 
SCOUTING HOLY CROSS
The Holy Cross Crusaders carry a 1-23-3 (1-19-1 WHEA) record in their first season as members of Hockey East. Rachel Moore leads the Crusaders in goals (6), assists (7), and points (13) in 27 games played. Holy Cross' top rookie is Carlie Magier who has posted 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in the first 25 games of her career. Freshman Jada Brenon has played 61.8% of the time in goal with an .895 SV% and 3.92 GAA. She was the starter in the Crusaders' lone win of the season when they defeated fifth-ranked Northeastern 5-3. Brenon made 34 saves and Moore had two goals in the historic win for Holy Cross.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Vermont has won the two games played against Holy Cross in program history. The Catamounts skated to an 11-0 victory Nov. 15, 1998 at Gutterson Fieldhouse. In 2001, the Crusaders hosted Vermont at the Hart Center where the Cats blanked the home team 2-0. Sunday's game will be the first time that the two teams have met as Division I programs.

THE PK CATS
Vermont's penalty kill sits in a tie for second in the country with a success rate of 91.2%. UVM only trails Bemidji State by 0.9% for the best penalty kill in the country. Since the start of 2019, Vermont has killed of 23 of 24 penalties taken for a rate of 95.8% that is second in the country during that span, trailing only No. 3 Northeastern by 0.2%. The Cats have killed off 83 penalties taken, which is the eighth most in the NCAA. Earlier this season, UVM went just over six games without yielding a power-play goal, a streak snapped by on Dec. 7. Starting Nov. 11 against Providence, that Vermont penalty-kill streak totaled 428:00.
 
2019 HEADWAY FOUNDATION CONCUSSION AWARENESS WEEKEND   
The Vermont women's hockey program has teamed up with the Headway Foundation for the 2019 Concussion Awareness Weekend. The Headway Foundation has worked to provide a platform for athletes of all ages and sports to positively change the athletes' approach to concussions. Fans can visit the Headway Foundation for more information and to donate to the 'New Tough' Concussion Awareness Campaign.
 
CATS IN THE PROS
A pair of Vermont alumnae square off this weekend in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) when Rachael Ade '17 and the Connecticut Whale visit Amanda Pelkey' 15, Madison Litchfield '17, and the Boston Pride Saturday (Feb. 2). In the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), Brittany Zuback '15, Mackenzie MacNeil '18 and the Toronto Furies travel to China for a battle with Shenzhen. Taylor Willard '18 and the Montreal Canadiennes host the Calgary Inferno for a two-game series while Gina Repaci '16 and the Markham Thunder take on the Worcester Blades in Massachusetts.
 

	Vermont Women's Hockey Alumnae Stats (as of 1/31)
Name	Team	Position	GP	G	A	P
Amanda Pelkey '15	Boston Pride (NWHL)	F	12	4	4	8
Rachael Ade '17	Connecticut Whale (NWHL)	D	11	0	0	0
Gina Repaci '16	Markham Thunder (CWHL)	D	21	0	0	0
Taylor Willard '18	Montreal Canadiennes (CWHL)	D	19	2	5	7
Mackenzie MacNeil '18	Toronto Furies (CWHL)	F	16	1	1	2
Brittany Zuback '15	Toronto Furies (CWHL)	F	11	0	0	0
Name	Team	Position	GP	GAA	SV%	SO
Madison Litchfield '17	Boston Pride (NWHL)	G	2	0.00	.000	0

 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 women's hockey season