Vermont 2023/24: Stuck in the Wieds

[Cat lover]

So much for the league cracking down on embellishments. Two of those penalties were textbook flops but whenever UVM got a call the BU captains complained to the refs like they are being treated so unfair. Seen this game so many times over the years were UVM is staying with or outplaying a top HE team 5 on 5 but the refs turn it into a PP contest which always favors the team loaded with NHL draft picks. BU had 13 I think last night including all 6 D-MEN.

Great to see the full house last night thou I thought the band could have done more to get the student section going. Dont remember a single GO CATS GO chant.

[VermontfaninNY]

Is there a way to buy tickets tonight? I saw it was a sell out already … more than a little hard to believe after the few games I’ve been to the last several years.

[Jim F.]

So much for the league cracking down on embellishments. Two of those penalties were textbook flops but whenever UVM got a call the BU captains complained to the refs like they are being treated so unfair. Seen this game so many times over the years were UVM is staying with or outplaying a top HE team 5 on 5 but the refs turn it into a PP contest which always favors the team loaded with NHL draft picks. BU had 13 I think last night including all 6 D-MEN.

Great to see the full house last night thou I thought the band could have done more to get the student section going. Dont remember a single GO CATS GO chant.

The band did their cowbell thing. There was a U-V-M chant. We do need more spontaneous Go Cats Go chants. They used to be automatic after an opponent's goal. But, they come from the crowd not the band. I tried starting some from center ice, but they didn't get picked up by the endzone crowd. Before the cowbell prompt tradition, the band used to have a three beat prompt that worked great. I've heard some GCG chants during the action in recent games. That's a symptom of too much digital music and announcements that drown out the crowd before faceoffs. At least they got rid of the organ music although they still have it at the women's games. Ideally, there won't be any digital music, just crowd chants and the band.

Second Northeastern game, the penalty count dropped to two. That should be better tonight.

Down 5-1 in the dwindling minutes, we passed up yet another opportunity to give Carriere some rest.

[GreenCat]

BU was the better team tonight but UVM still very competitive. Refs 60-40 BU tonight versus 80-20 last night. Floppers.

[Jim F.]

5:11 left in 1st period: Why is 7 for BU allowed to cross-check Walther 4 times? He was laughing by the bench after getting away with that and did more of the same at the end of the game, again unpenalized.
3:05 left in the 1st period: BU clearly interferes with Richards before they reached the puck. If that penalty is called, BU doesn't get their 2nd goal on the rush the other way.
1:05 left in the 3rd period: BU player hitting Muenzenberger in the corner of the UVM zone right in front of the referee who ignored it.

Happy with our offensive zone pressure. Happy to see Mangbo get playing time. Happy with our hustle beating BU to loose pucks often. Unhappy to hear the return of the organ and again, too much music and promotions. Heard some Go Cats Go chants while the play was going on instead of while waiting for faceoffs. Music is completely unnecessary. We have a band! Go to Schneider Arena and you won't hear any fan cheering as they have non-stop music when the play stops. At AIC, it is similar except the music is way too loud. Get rid of the digital music. Do we really need promotional announcements for the Admissions office? In the first period, there was a perfect time for a Go Cats Go chant. Instead we were giving away pizzas!

[Cat lover]

Hockey East officials do a great job at protecting the leagues star teams and I have heard hate to have to come up to VT for weekends while games they do in Mass area they can just go home afterwards. Yea that one at 1:05 was a perfect example of a gutless ref who was only 5 feet away not wanting to do anything. That said BU was the more talented team this weekend but they surely don't need help from the refs as well.

[NYCatamount89]

Not sure what to make of this weekend other than BU are just stacked. Outside of a few stretches, BU just dominated. Getting see Hutson and Celebrini up close is special. I did think some of the calls were soft, but I also thought the cats took some stupid penalties. Bergmanis in particular. I know grit is a big part of his game but you have to be smarter than that against a team with that kind of Powerplay.

Agreed on that play late in the 3rd. LaChance cross checked Munzenberger like 3 times and challenged him to a fight directly in front of the ref who just stood there watching them.

Not sure what it was like on Friday, but the atmosphere in the Gut needs to improve. The student section was weak. Everyone sitting down. The entire section on left of that side of the rink was empty. The band didn't really do anything to get them involved either. What happened to the "go cat go" chant? Athletics needs to prioritize getting students engaged.

[chickod]

Just a comment. Something my college roommate who is now a play-by-play guy told me last year: “lf you haven’t been to a game in awhile, you will be shocked at how the ‘game presentation’ has changed.” He was right…it’s just non-stop music and noise. By the time the game was done, I had a huge headache. I agree with all your sentiments and wish I could be more optimistic, but that’s just the way things are now. Continuous sensory overload.

[Red Hockey]

Just a comment. Something my college roommate who is now a play-by-play guy told me last year: “lf you haven’t been to a game in awhile, you will be shocked at how the ‘game presentation’ has changed.” He was right…it’s just non-stop music and noise. By the time the game was done, I had a huge headache. I agree with all your sentiments and wish I could be more optimistic, but that’s just the way things are now. Continuous sensory overload.

Indeed. I've been going to Princeton once a season most of the past seven years to see Cornell play and post pandemic the canned music, noise, and special effects are heavily overused and take so much away from the experience of the games. They just don't align well at all with the aesthetic of the rink, which is a historic neo-gothic building that is quite intimate and old school

[NYCatamount89]

Maybe we're just old

I do like the new video board a lot, but there is definitely something missing from the Gut experience. Hopefully the team improving and the renovation being completed (fingers crossed on this ever happening) will bring it back. I do think it would be smart for athletics to have the cheer squad in the stands or maybe even try to find some student volunteers to hype up the student section.

[Catfantoo]

Really enjoyed the weekend. Watching some worldclass talent, mostly full barn, some future NHL'ers. Great to see the sellouts and the influx of fans from the north to watch Hutsonmania. It was very entertaining. But from a spectator standpoint with attendance at ~3600 people when the whistle blows, and it takes 2 minutes for the people walking by the glass to get where they're going you have a restricted view of the ice. Ushers doing their job and holding people during play but the setup stinks. Bathroom situations less than acceptable. Handicap door that doesn't even lock. I could go on and on.

Reading story from Montreal press this morning regarding Hutson. This is sentence #1 how the story starts: (Burlington, Vermont) As soon as we step into the dilapidated Gutterson Fieldhouse.

WOW - dilapidated is the word they used. Now imagine a potential recruit and his family and what they're thinking. I know the coaching staff is talking about the influence of the crowd and how great and encouraging it is for the players. I don't disagree but the administration needs to get off their butt and finish the arena and the adjacent basketball arena. This needs to be done for fan experience and ability to recruit the type of players needed. All these delays are just driving the final $ pricetag of the project upwards. Things today cost so much more than 3-4 years ago. I'm hearing current President isn't into sports and is the major impediment to going forward. Our rink is 1/2 baked and it needs to be finished.

[j24vt]

Long time season ticket holder. We went from 4 tickets down to 2 this season. Probably our last year with season tickets if the renovation isn't completed. I love live college hockey and have been going to UVM games for 50+ years (I remember when the mascot was a live mountain lion in a cage on the platform above the old vistor's locker room). Fully agree about the restricted view because of the 'temporary construction walkway' which displaced our seats. We are constantly having to ask kids to return to their seats because they stop and watch the game at the platform at the end of the bench. There has been a breakout play diagramed on the glass at the end of the vistor's bench since mid-December that the rink staff hasn't cleaned off. And I now have to print out the rosters at home unless I grab a copy from the Victory Club.

Love the new scoreboard (now that it has been fixed) and being able to see replays. Have also found myself watching it during the game when people are walking around. This begs the question about why I am attending vs watching on ESPN+. The ESPN+ broadcast quality is slowly improving. Must be the pulled pork nachos

Crowd based cheers have always started with the student section. It just needs a leader to get things started. For many years it was someone in a yellow rain hat and down vest who shall remain nameless. Just need one person near the bottom of the student section to stand up and get things started and it becomes The Gut again.

[j24vt]

Here is a link to the article about Gutterson/Hutson mentioned above: https://www.lapresse.ca/sports/hocke...-de-naitre.php

I figured Kent Hughes was some where in the barn

[StillKIA2]

What is up with the Cancer Night royal blue herseys? Are they going to be auctioned off?

edit: yes
https://www.32auctions.com/uvmmihcancer

[Cat lover]

Gabe and his best friend (posts) put on a show and gave the Cats a much needed win.

Nice to see the refs let the teams play in the third for a change

On a sidenote BC beat BU 4-1. BU got only 1 powerplay in the game so much for plan #1.