WOMEN'S HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts open up 2019 with a two-game road trip to Rhode Island as they face No. 7 Providence Saturday (Jan. 5) and Sunday (Jan. 6). UVM takes on the Friars at 2 p.m. both days at Schneider Arena.
 
RELATED LINKS
Saturday (Jan. 5): WATCH | LIVE STATS | Game Notes (.pdf)
Sunday (Jan. 6): WATCH | LIVE STATS

SCOUTING THE FRIARS
Providence carries a 15-3-0 (9-2-0 WHEA) mark into the weekend series for seventh in the USCHO poll and third in league standings. Sophomore Maureen Murphy paces the offense with a nation-leading 17 goals, a team-high 14 assists, and 31 points for second-most in Hockey East. Christina Putigna is second on the team in goals (8), assists (10), and points (18) after a third-best 27 points a season ago. The Friars' top rookie is Sara Hjalmarsson who has registered six goals, seven assists, and 13 points in 16 games. Colchester, Vermont native Madison Myers leads Providence in net with a 14-2-0 record, .949 SV%, and 1.14 GAA. Last season, the Friars went 17-13-7 (12-7-5 WHEA) for second in league standings, but were upset by seventh-seeded UConn in three games.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
This weekend's contests mark the 49th and 50th all-time meetings between the Catamounts and Providence. Vermont is 15-29-4 dating back to Nov. 25, 2000 at Schneider Arena. The Cats are 1-3-1 in the last five contests against the Friars with three of them taking place at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The two conference foes share a 2-2-1 mark in the last five meetings at Providence. In 2017, the Friars hosted Vermont in the Hockey East Quarterfinals when the Cats were victorious in the best-of-three series. Providence took the first game on a game-winning goal with 8.1 seconds left in regulation, but the fifth-seeded Catamounts went on to win the next two games 5-1 and 5-2 to advance to the Hockey East Semifinals. Vermont hosted the Friars Nov. 11 at Gutterson Fieldhouse, but fell 2-0 despite playing a solid defensive game. The conference matchup sparked a 428:00 successful penalty-kill streak for the Catamounts, which was eventually snapped Dec. 7 at Yale.

LAST TIME OUT
Vermont split the final series of 2018 with the Yale Bulldogs Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Connecticut. UVM exploded for a five-goal day Friday powered by Abby Cleary's markers goals in the first period. The junior transfer's opening goal was her first as a Catamount and part of a career-high three points. Corinne McCool netted her first career goal while Ève-Audrey Picard and Sini Karjalainen each added two assists. Blanka Škodová stopped 27 shots in goal for the Catamounts. UVM lost the following day 6-4 after Yale's Clarie Dalton scored the game-winner on a penalty shot with 43 seconds left in regulation. Picard had two goals and Karjalainen added two assists for the second consecutive game. Škodová (12 saves) had the start, but Sierra Natzke (11 saves) made her collegiate debut in the middle frame.
 
KARJALAINEN NAMED ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Catamounts' defender Sini Karjalainen was named Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month after leading all Hockey East freshmen with a four-point December. Karjalainen registered four assists on the two-game road series at Yale to close out 2018 and secure a 1.33 point-per-game pace for the month. Her point total was the highest among rookies in Hockey East over that week to earn Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week on Dec. 10. Karjalainen became the first Catamount to earn the monthly award since Ève-Audrey Picard in Feb. 2017.
 
LOOKING BACK AT 2018
Vermont notched 63 goals en route to a 10-18-6 (7-12-4 WHEA) record in the 2018 calendar year. Ève-Audrey Picard led the Catamounts' offense with 15 goals and 27 points in 31 games. The Longueuil, Québec native recorded back-to-back hat tricks Jan. 27 and Feb. 2 against Northeastern and Boston University, respectively. The then-sophomore's third goal against Northeastern came with 12 seconds left in regulation to sweep the Huskies at home. UVM had one of its biggest wins in program history in Minneapolis as the Cats defeated No. 5 Minnesota 4-2. With the victory, head coach Jim Plumer passed Dennis Miller with 71 wins for the most in program history. In the summer of 2018, Mackenzie MacNeil '18, Taylor Willard '18, and Gina Repaci '16 were drafted into the Canadian Women's Hockey League before making their professional debuts in the fall. The most notable accomplishment by a Vermont alumna came from former captain Amanda Pelkey '15 at Winter Olympic Games. Pelkey and the United States defeated archrival Canada in a shootout to win the nation's first gold medal since 1998.
 
PACK THE GUT (presented by The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub)
On Friday, Feb. 1, the Vermont Catamounts host the annual Pack the Gut challenge as they look to break the Hockey East attendance record (2,136 fans) that was set in the 2017 Pack the Gut. All tickets are on sale for $2. Presented by The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub, this year's push to break the record will see the Catamounts host the Boston University Terriers and benefit Kayla's Directory. Kayla has been a member of the team since 2015 through Team Impact.
 
The Windjammer and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 women's hockey season