OXFORD, Ohio – Kevin Sneddon’s 100th career victory as a head coach was one his biggest so far at the University of Vermont. Sneddon and the Catamounts used two goals from sophomore Corey Carlson (Two Harbors, Minn.) and 31 saves from junior Joe Fallon (Bemidji, Minn.) to defeat No. 8 Miami 4-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 3,642 at the Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio, to win the Ice Breaker Invitational. The victory moved Vermont to 2-0 on the season and gave the Catamounts a third straight regular season tournament title dating back to last season when UVM claimed the Nye Frontier Classic and the Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup.
“First off I really want to thank Miami for hosting a great tournament,” Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. “This was an exceptional tournament for our student-athletes, not just because we won the tournament but also because there was great competition, great camaraderie with the coaching staffs and just a great early experience for our team.”
“As far as the game goes, early on we were the recipients of some power play opportunities and I thought we did a great job of cashing in,” Sneddon added. “Miami is one of the best penalty killing teams I have ever seen, but we finally figured out a way to get some shots through and it wasn’t always pretty but it was effective. I also thought our penalty killers were spectacular tonight. The key to our success was that and our goaltending.”
In a game were 28 penalties were called the Catamounts killed off a pair of 5-on-3’s in the opening period to keep the game scoreless after the first 20 minutes. Vermont also stopped another 5-on-3 early in the second period before Carlson scored at 12:51 to give the Catamounts a 1-0 lead. Carlson knocked in a rebound off a shot from the right circle by senior Evan Stoflet (Madison, Wis.). It was the first goal of the season for Carlson.
Later in the second period freshman Colin Vock (Plymouth, Mich.) scored the first goal of his career during a 5-on-3 to give the Catamounts a 2-0 advantage. Vock’s goal came at 17:07 of the second period when he scored from inside the right circle. Senior co-captain Kenny Macaulay (Baddeck, Nova Scotia) set up the goal by sending in a shot off the end board and it bounced right to an open Vock. Sophomore Dean Strong (Mississauga, Ontario) also assisted on the play.
Then with just three seconds to go in the second period junior co-captain Torrey Mitchell (Greenfield Park, Quebec) made it 3-0 UVM with another 5-on-3 goal. Mitchell sent a blast from the left circle past Miami sophomore goalie Jeff Zatkoff. Sophomore Peter Lenes (Shelburne, Vt.) and senior Ryan Gunderson (Bensalem, Pa.) each assisted on the score. Mitchell’s goal was his second of the season and the third in the second period for the Catamounts. Vermont out shot Miami 22-8 in the period.
At 3:00 of the third period Miami senior Marty Guerin scored during a 5-on-3 to move the Red Hawks within 3-1. Miami had a total of five power play opportunities in the third period but were not able to score another goal.
The Catamounts put the game away at 17:55 of the third period when Carlson skated in all alone on Zatkoff a notched his second goal of the game.
The Catamounts return home next weekend to take on Northeastern at 7:05pm at Gutterson Fieldhouse in the home opener and Hockey East opener. The first 2,000 fans to the game will receive a team poster courtesy of WVMT-AM 620 and there will be a post-game autograph session. There will also be a pre-game student fan fest, sponsored by the SGA.
Ice Breaker Invitational All-Tournament Team Joe Fallon – Vermont Ryan Gunderson – Vermont Torrey Mitchell – Vermont Dean Strong – Vermont Ryan Jones – Miami Chris Butler – Denver
Game Notes … Tonight’s game can be seen on a tape delay basis on Sunday (Oct. 8) at 5:00pm on ESPNU (Adelphia channel 133)… Denver defeated Colgate 3-2 in the consolation game of the Ice Breaker Invitational … Vermont outscored its opponents 10-1 this weekend … Vermont is 6-0 all-time against Miami.