BURLINGTON, Vt. - Vermont scored four power play goals, including three in the first nine minutes of the third period, and skated to a 4-1 victory over Acadia University in exhibition action on Sunday afternoon at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Catamounts won each of their two exhibition games this weekend and travel to No. 6 North Dakota to open the regular season next weekend.
After a scoreless first period, Connor Brickley opened the scoring five minutes into the second frame. Nick Bruneteau fed Brickley at the left faceoff dot and the senior ripped a slap shot into the upper right corner to beat Acadia goalie Brandon Glover. Matt White picked up the second assist as Brickey grabbed his fifth point of the weekend.
The Axemen tied things up later in the frame on the power play after Mike Santaguida made a sprawling save at the left post on a net-front scramble. From behind the net, Geoff Schemitsch quickly fed the puck to the right doorstep for Liam Heelis, who stuck a one-timer into the open net at 14:03.
The Catamounts took control of the game early in the final frame after a flurry of Acadia penalties. While operating on a 5-on-3, Brendan Bradley slid a pass across the slot for Pete Massar, who fired home a one-timer to put UVM back on top 2-1. Just 52 seconds later on another two-man advantage, Robert Polesello wristed a shot high glove side on Glover through a partial screen to extend the lead.
Vermont then earned its third 5-on-3 of the period as Massar gave up a look at goal and patiently dished a pass to Yvan Pattyn in the right cirle. The sophomore tucked a low shot inside the right post past Glover and give UVM a three-goal cushion. The goal was Pattyn's third of the weekend.
The Catamounts finished the night 4-18 on the power play, including a 3-10 mark in the third period, and 6-7 on the penalty kill. Santaguida made 17 saves in the victory as his teammates out-shot the Axemen 36-18 on the night.
UVM takes on sixth-ranked North Dakota next Friday (Oct. 11) at 8:30 p.m. (EST) and Saturday (Oct. 12) at 8 p.m. (EST) at Ralph Engelstad Arena to open the regular season. Both games can be heard live on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com with pre-game coverage beginning 30 minutes before faceoff.