BURLINGTON, Vt. - Senior Jon Rheault scored twice and senior Tyler Sims turned away 20 shots to lead Providence to a 4-0 victory over Vermont in front of the 64th straight sellout of 4,003 at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Saturday night. The loss ended Vermont's three-game unbeaten streak as the Catamounts fell to 3-6-2 (3-3-2 HEA) while Providence improved to 4-6-2 (4-3-2 HEA).
The shutout for Sims was his second of the season and the sixth in his career.
Sophomore Greg Collins and junior Kyle Laughlin both added goals for the Friars. Freshmen Matt Germain and Ian O'Connor each had two assists.
"I thought Providence executed a really smart game plan," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "They wanted to play in their zone very little. They got the puck and got it right out."
Collins opened the scoring with a shot from the left point that beat Vermont senior Joe Fallon (Bemidji, Minn.) on the blocker side 14:41 into the game.
Providence out shot Vermont 15-9 in the first period.
The Friars took a 2-0 lead when Laughlin scored 6:08 into the second. Laughlin steered the puck in front from the left goal line and it went off Fallon's stick into the net for his sixth goal of the season.
Sophomore Mike Spillane (Bow, N.H.) replaced Fallon in net following the goal. Fallon finished with 15 saves in 26:08 of work.
Rheault notched his first of two goals on the night from the slot at 8:22 to make it 3-0 Providence.
Then with 19 seconds left in the second, Rheault broke free in the Vermont zone and went in one-on-one with Spillane. Rheault squeezed the puck through the five-hole for his sixth goal of the season to give Providence a 4-0 cushion.
Vermont held Providence to 0-for-4 on the power play. The Friars entered the game ranked second in the country on the man advantage. The Catamounts went 0-for-3.
Spillane finished with 14 saves in his third appearance of the season. Sneddon was pleased with his performance.
"I thought Mike (Spillane) did a nice job of controlling the play," Sneddon said. "He made the first save and controlled the rebound. I thought he did a nice job."
Vermont continues a five-game home stand in the month of December next Saturday at 7:05pm against Harvard. The game will be televised on C8 - The Comcast Network. The first 1,500 fans will receive Rally Towels courtesy of the American Red Cross.
NOTES: Vermont wore its black alternate uniforms at home for the first time this season ... The Catamounts are 4-2-1 against the Friars since joining Hockey East ... Sophomore Colin Vock finished with a team-leading six shots for UVM ... Providence out shot Vermont 33-20.