Vermont 2022-23: New Jerseys, New Attitude

[KennyCat]

Gutsy performance at BC AGAIN. Zapernick’s shot is sick.

I was also sickened with how the Cats tried to give the game back to BC when on a 5 minute power play to close out the game. But, they won. Feels good.

[UVM Cat in Texas]

Wow, great weekend against a BC team that was playing well. The best two game weekend of the Woodcroft era! Hopefully a sign of things to come!

[iowabasedtraveler]

Congratulations on a HUGE weekend at BC!!

[Catfantoo]

Great weekend and starting to see players stepping up. Coaches decision to go with Autio (played well last time out) was interesting but it worked and now you've got both goalies feeling good about their game. Had to be a pretty fun bus ride home from Boston. Good momentum into next weekend.

[TovarishchLisa]

Great weekend and starting to see players stepping up. Coaches decision to go with Autio (played well last time out) was interesting but it worked and now you've got both goalies feeling good about their game. Had to be a pretty fun bus ride home from Boston. Good momentum into next weekend.

This is one thing I've noticed about the Woodcroft regime vs the Sneddon regime re: goalie workloads. Harmon last season played more than any backup of the prior era (with one outlier - Santaguida's four years, where he was 1B to Hoffman then dealt with injuries that led to underclassmen Munson and Lekkas taking the reigns more or less by default), and it looks like Autio will be the same since he'll probably have another couple starts.

Home against Merrimack next weekend...they started real well, but have been poor since the end of the semester. There's blood in the water there, but there's also a really good team there if first half Mack shows up. We're only actually one point out of an Octofinal home game (though Maine has games in hand...ughhhhh man does getting swept at home by them really hurt now), let's get some positive momentum building.

[Vermont2004]

They played some great hockey last weekend. Wasn't even going to watch but the first game pulled me in. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going against Merrimack.

[Cat lover]

Of all the things to copy from Merrimack they choose half ***ing back on the powerplay. And please can someone trash this trailer play on the PP rush that everyone has now figured out.

[TovarishchLisa]

Much better game tonight. Surpassed last season's win total with that one btw

[Cat lover]

Line up was pretty much the same both nights but the team that played Sat didnt look anything like the one from Friday,

[Catfantoo]

Nice to see the rebound on Saturday night after a very frustrating Friday. Team never really had it on Friday (not sure why) and being down 2 goals in the 3rd and given 7 minutes of PP time to try and claw back into it resulted in more frustration. Goalie rotation seems to be paying off, maybe the way to go and let each goalie focus on their 60 minutes each weekend. Andrei B. is the most skilled person on the ice for UVM with his skating, puck possession and vision. Two assists on Saturday and currently tied for 2nd in team scoring. Still has alot to learn to prepare for the next level but can see why he is a 3rd round NHL draft pick and his skating is elite and this will give him a crack at the NHL down the road. Big game on Sunday.

[SoucyWasNoSieve]

Really surprised coaches did not challenge the Providence pp goal late in the period for offsides. Couldn't get worse for us.

[Catfantoo]

Not sure what the rules are as we successfully challenged a 1st period offsides that wiped out a goal. Maybe we're only allowed 1? Coaches upstairs usually have a good view of bluelines. Couple stories in this game. Good call to have Autio in nets. I felt he played very well. Maybe 2nd goal you can criticize a bit but believe he was screened. Watch the UVM highlights and you see a few other breakaways that he stuffed. Bottom-line he kept them close and did his job. Team having difficulty playing 60 full minutes. Lapses or not matching opponent's level is costing us. Being down 2-0 after 1 had us playing uphill all night. Especially for an offensively challenged team like UVM.

When you look at full season stats - def/goaltending/special teams are more middle of the pack type ranking in HE. It's offensively where the team is really lacking. We're dead last in goals at 48 scored in 28 games (next lowest is UNH at 61). Take our 1 SHG, and 20 PP goals away and we've scored 27 even strength goals. In the forward ranks yesterday we had 9 guys with 3 or less goals, of which 4 have 1 or less. Of top 12 forwards yesterday only 1 junior and 1 grad student. In my opinion in top 6 we have really 1 (maybe 2) top 6 type players. I'm guessing we're having difficulty getting the upper level offensively gifted players to come. Hearing maybe a few next year? I'm sure this is the focus with the recruiting and then getting those type of players will allow for proper slotting through out lineup. We'll see.

[NYCatamount89]

Made it to the game on Sunday. First time at the Gut this season. Terrible in the first, great in the second, and just not quite good enough in the third. Providence is a decent team that was due to breakout after a tough stretch. You have to give credit to the special teams. They looked good. 5 on 5 offense is definitely the missing piece, but that's not really new. I agree with Catfantoo, ultimately they just can't seem to get elite offensive talent to show up on campus. Bump, Strand and Kessler all seem like recruits who can score, but their stats in the USHL this year aren't stellar.

On a bigger point, I have to say I was disappointed by my experience. I don't think this is really about coaches and players, more of an administration issue. Obviously a Sunday afternoon game after a half decade of, at best, mediocre hockey is never a recipe for a great atmosphere, but the place just felt kinda sad. Between the arena still be under construction, the lack of a student section, the choppy in arena presentation, and the fact that my ticket cost $30, I felt pretty underwhelmed. I've thought the same thing watching the video feed on ESPN+ this season. I don't think it's any of the employees fault. Rob Ryan is actually great on PxP. I think they're all just doing their best with the little resources available. The problem is it all just seems 2nd rate, especially compared to other programs that should be on our level.

Sorry don't mean to be a downer, but I just think there is a conversation to be had about the direction of the athletic department in general.

[j24vt]

The second goal was a defensive breakdown that left the Providence player all alone in front of Autio. Don't remember who the D was but one of them got hit with a high stick behind the net that wasn't called and pretty much stopped playing (maybe expecting a whistle that never came).

Agree about the Gutterson experience. Have had 4 season tickets for a long time and am thinking about subscribing to ESPN+ for a month to check out the broadcast with the thought towards ditching the tickets next year. Between people CONSTANTLY walking back and forth, having to ask kids to not stand in front of us on the glass and not having printed game programs...

I think the program is heading in the right direction but is still a couple recruiting classes away from getting back on track.

[UVM Cat in Texas]

The problem is it all just seems 2nd rate, especially compared to other programs that should be on our level.

Sorry don't mean to be a downer, but I just think there is a conversation to be had about the direction of the athletic department in general.

I totally agree, but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for that conversation to occur. Personally, I gave up on the idea of UVM having a commitment to hockey when the idea of a new rink failed. I can vividly remember talk of a new rink since the day I stepped on campus as a freshman in the fall of 1983. As many of you know, the idea was comprehensively "studied" ad nauseam over the years with a slew of proposals that gained and eventually lost traction. Don't see why we can't build something new and nice similar to SHU or UConn or a myriad of other schools that have done it in recent years. Instead, we have the "charm" of The Gut. It is admittedly a unique old barn, but I'm not sure a young recruit sees the attraction when it comes time to pick a school. I guess we just don't have any wealthy alums willing to commit financially.

But just, in a general sense, I do think interest in hockey at UVM has waned significantly. There used to be a years long waitlist for season tickets and I remember standing in line as a student at 5:00 a.m. at Patrick hoping to get a few tix for me and my friends to the game that night. Times change and I have personally lowered my expectations for the school, the team, and the program in general. In terms of athletics, UVM is delighted having the BB team make the big dance every now and again. Sadly, that's just the way it is.