FINAL SCORE: #12 Providence 3, Vermont 2
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Simon Jellus scored with 40 seconds left in regulation Friday night to force overtime as the Catamounts battled No. 12 Providence in their Hockey East Opener from Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Friars earned the extra point with Nick Poisson's OT game-winner 89 seconds into the extra session.

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COACH'S QUOTE
"We battled back," said Head Coach Steve Wiedler. "They're #12 in the nation for a reason. Zero moral victories here. We have to let the loss sting and we have to make the adjustments. Tomorrow won't be any easier."  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Friars opened the scoring 9:08 into the first period. John Mustard scored his first career goal on a broken play in front of the Vermont net. From behind the goal line Chase Yoder centered the puck, it bounced off a couple of skates in front and trailing on the play Mustard picked it up and put it home.
• Providence doubled their advantage 6:42 into the middle frame. Will Elger scored his first of the season on a breakaway for the Friars.
• Joel Määttä cut the deficit in half for the Catamounts with 6:51 remaining in the middle frame. From the blue line Philip Törnqvist setup Massimo Lombardi for a one-timer from the faceoff dot. Lombardi's shot deflected off a PC defender's skate and caromed into the slot. The puck came right to Määttä and he one-timed just under the arm of Providence's Philip Svedebäck for his first goal of the season.
• With 50.1 seconds left in the middle frame PC's Graham Gamache had a golden opportunity to extend the lead back to two. From right in front of the crease he one-timed a shot that Rancier swallowed up with a great glove save.
• With 53.3 seconds left in the third period Jellus drew a tripping penalty on Providence in the neutral zone.
• The Catamounts pulled Rancier to make it a six-on-four advantage. Määttä won the offensive faceoff for UVM and they got to work. Määttä tried to find Max Strand in front for a one-timer but it was blocked by three PC defenders, Massimo Lombardi gathered the rebound and played the puck out to Jellus at the top of the circle. Jellus blew a shot by Svedebäck for the game-tying tally. just 13 seconds into the power play.
• In the extra sessions Poisson tucked home a rebound right in front of the UVM net to earn the win and extra league point for the Friars.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• With two assists this evening junior forward Massimo Lombardi now leads the Catamounts with four points this season. He has one goal and three assists.
• The Catamounts blocked 10 shots Friday night, including a team-high three blocks from Sebastian Törnqvist.
• With tonight's 3-2 decision, Community Bank N.A. will donate $150 to Special Olympics Vermont. Community Bank, N.A. donates $75 per goal to Special Olympics Vermont for every goal the men's and women's team scores this season.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts are back at it tomorrow on Handy Toyota Night hosting No. 12 Providence at 6 p.m. The contest will air live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan on the call. As always, the game will also be broadcast live on WVMT (96.3 FM/620 AM) with the voice of the Catamounts Adam Lafleur in the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth.
 
For news and updates about the Vermont men's hockey program, follow @UVMmhockey on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.
 
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the UVM men's hockey program