Men’s Hockey; Catamounts Battle Friars to 1-1 Standoff

Posted on , updated on by George Commo

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON — Vermont and 14th-ranked Providence traded first period goals before playing the remainder of the game scoreless in a 1-1 Hockey East tie Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

COACH’S QUOTE
“A great college game played by both teams,” said head coach Kevin Sneddon. “It was a hard fought game and I loved how we played fearlessly in the last few minutes of the third and throughout overtime.”

HOW IT HAPPENED
Spenser Young gave the Friars a 1-0 lead at 10:23 of the first period. Jack Dugan carried the puck through the middle of the Vermont zone and dropped a pass to Young, who ripped a shot from the slot past Stefanos
Less than five minutes after Young’s goal, Vlad Dzhioshvili netted his fourth goal of the season at 15:15 of the opening frame. He skated across the PC zone with speed on a delayed Friar penalty before wiring a shot under Michael Lackey (32 saves). Alex Esposito assisted on the equalizer.
Lekkas and the Catamounts kept the powerful Providence power play off the board on two attempts in a scoreless second period. Lekkas recorded 11 of his 37 saves in the middle frame.
Jacques Bouquot rang iron at 1:31 of the third period, beating Lackey’s glove with the short side shot but narrowly missing the target.
Vermont controlled the overtime period and finished the extra frame with a 6-1 advantage in shots. However, Lackey stood tall and notably made three saves in rapid succession with two minutes left on the clock to preserve the tie.

GAME NOTES
Vermont wore Connolly on the back of every jersey in memory of Professor Declan Connolly and a moment of silence was held before the game.
Providence finished the night with a 38-33 advantage in shots. Both teams went 0-for-3 on power play chances.
Tonight’s final marks the second straight 1-1 tie between Vermont and Providence. The Catamounts and Friars ended in a 1-1 deadlock in last year’s series finale at Schneider Arena.

UP NEXT | Tickets
Vermont closes the season series with Providence tomorrow night at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The puck is slated to drop at 7:05 p.m. on North Country Night at the Gut.