Kevin Sneddon enters his ninth season as the head coach at the University of Vermont in 2011-12, and his 19th year in the coaching profession.

He led the Catamounts to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008-09 and 2009-10. UVM made its second Frozen Four in school history in 2008-09.

The Catamounts attained their highest-ever final ranking in 2008-09, finishing third in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll with a 22-12-5 record. Sneddon was named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award, given annually to the top Division I coach in the country.

In 2009-10, Vermont upset Hockey East regular season champion New Hampshire in the league quarterfinals to advance to the TD Garden in Boston for the Hockey East Championships. For the first time in program history, Vermont earned a spot in the Hockey East Championships and NCAA Tournament in the same year. UVM also won the Sheraton/TD Bank Catamount Cup.

Under Sneddon's leadership, the Catamounts have become one of the premier programs in college hockey. Vermont posted its sixth straight winning season in 2009-10 for the first time since moving to the Division I level in 1974-75. The Catamounts won 113 games and five in-season tournaments in that six-year span.

In 2007-08, Sneddon was named the Bob Cullen Hockey East Coach of the Year and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year after leading the Catamounts to a 17-15-7 record and their first-ever trip to the Hockey East Championship Game in Boston.

Sneddon guided Vermont to an 18-16-5 record and a championship in the prestigious Ice Breaker Invitational in 2006-07. The Catamounts finished second in the country in scoring defense with a 2.00 goals against average and they ranked third nationally on the penalty kill at 88.8-percent.

In 2005-06, the Catamounts posted a 18-14-6 record in their first year in Hockey East. Vermont established the best start to a season in school history by winning its first seven contests. The Catamounts went on to claim tournament titles in both the Nye Frontier Classic and Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup.

During the month of December that season, Vermont was ranked as high as third in the country in both national polls, giving the Catamounts their highest ranking in a decade. Vermont finished third in the nation in goals against average at 2.16 and won the Sportsmanship Award in Hockey East for the least amount of penalty minutes in conference play. In addition, captain Jaime Sifers '06 was one of seven finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, given annually to college hockey's finest citizen.

During the 2004-05 season, Sneddon led the Catamounts to their first 20-win season in eight years with a 21-14-4 mark. Vermont was also the most improved team in the country winning 12 more games than it did the previous season.

Vermont was picked to finish 10th in the ECAC Preseason Coaches' Poll that year. Instead, the Catamounts finished fourth in the ECAC and were ranked as high as 10th in USCHO.com/CSTV Poll. UVM also advanced to the ECAC Championships in Albany, N.Y., for the first time since 1996 after defeating Dartmouth in the ECAC Quarterfinals. Vermont defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the country for the first time in school history with a 3-2 victory at Minnesota-Duluth in October.

A 1992 graduate of Harvard University, Sneddon is just the third coach in the last 44 years at Vermont. He succeeded Mike Gilligan, who stepped down in April of 2003 after 19 years behind the Catamount bench.

The head coach at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., from 1998 to 2003, Sneddon was associated with the Union men's hockey program since 1993-94 when he was named an assistant under former head coach Bruce Delventhal. He was named head coach in the summer of 1998, and in 2002-03 Sneddon led the Dutchmen to their first-ever ECAC home-ice playoff series. Union qualified for the ECAC Playoffs in three of Sneddon's last four years with the Dutchmen. His career record at Union was 50-99-18 in five seasons.

Sneddon's first recruiting class at Vermont produced the ECAC Rookie of the Year in goalie Joe Fallon and ECAC All-Rookie Team member in forward Torrey Mitchell.

Fallon, a sixth round pick in the 2005 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, finished his career ranked first or second in every major goaltending category at UVM. His 20 career shutouts rank second all-time in NCAA history and his 2.05 career goals against average is 11th best all-time in Division I. Fallon holds a total of 11 career, single-season, and freshman records at Vermont. Fallon signed an NHL contract with Chicago in April of 2008.

Mitchell, a San Jose Sharks 2004 NHL draft choice, completed his career with 35 goals and 70 assists for 105 points. He signed a NHL contract with San Jose in March of 2007 and was one of the NHL's top rookies in 2007-08.

Viktor Stålberg, a sixth round NHL Draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2006, became the fourth Catamount in program history to be named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top college hockey player in the country. Stålberg was also named a First-Team NCAA All-American and signed a NHL contract with the Toronto in April of 2009.

That same year, Brayden Irwin became the sixth Catamount that has played for Sneddon in as many years to sign a NHL contract. Irwin signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs in March.

Five current Sneddon recruits have been selected in the NHL Draft: seniors Drew MacKenzie (2007, Seventh Round, Buffalo Sabres) and Matt Marshall (2007, Fifth Round, Tampa Bay Lightning), sophomore Connor Brickley (2010, Second Round, Florida Panthers), and freshmen Michael Paliotta (2011, Third Round, Chicago Blackhawks) and Nick Luukko (2010, Sixth Round, Philadelphia Flyers).

Brickley is the second highest draft choice for the Catamounts in program history behind only U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer John LeClair, who was selected 33rd overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

Defenseman Kyle Medvec, who graduated after the 2010-11 season, was a fourth round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2006 and signed an entry-level contract in July of 2011. Medvec was a sophomore on Vermont's 2008-09 Frozen Four team under Sneddon.

Off the ice, Sneddon works hard to develop his student-athletes. Whether its helping his players to achieve goals in the classroom or teaching them important values away from hockey, he takes pride in preparing his players for "life's greater challenges." Sneddon serves as the Executive Vice President for the Jarred Williams Foundation and has been involved with the organization for the last seven years.

The Catamounts participate in several community service events each year. Those projects include volunteering at the local Ronald McDonald House, visiting children at Fletcher Allen Health Care and residents in local nursing homes, the Coach Sneddon Summer Cruise to benefit the Jarred Williams Foundation, the Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament, Green Up Day, and volunteering for the Burlington Amateur Hockey Association.

Sneddon has been very involved at the conference and national level in the sport of hockey. He served on the ECAC Executive Coaches Committee and the ECAC Strategic Planning Committee from 2001-03 and was Vice President of Convention Planning for the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) from 2003-06. Five years ago, proceeds from Vermont's "Midnight Madness" went to Hockey Coaches Care, the official charitable organization of the AHCA. He also is a member of the Executive Board for the Hockey Humanitarian Foundation.

In the collegiate ranks, he was a four-year starter at Harvard University where he helped the Crimson win the NCAA Championship in 1988-89. That season, he was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team, the NCAA All-Tournament Team, and was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL Draft. During his four years at Harvard, he was the 96th captain of the Harvard men's hockey team, and participated in the World Junior Camp and the Albany World Cup.

Sneddon suffered two season-ending injuries, and operations on his shoulder and back limited his playing time in each of his last two seasons. Before beginning his coaching career, Sneddon had a brief stint with Kings in the NHL. Back surgery cut short his career and he made the decision to become a coach shortly thereafter.

Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Sneddon attended Nelson High School before attending Harvard. His father, Robert, played professional hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks and the California Golden Seals. He spent much of his career playing in the AHL and IHL minor leagues.

Sneddon, his wife Toni, and daughter Gabrielle live in South Burlington.

John Micheletto was named associate head coach for the men's hockey team at the University of Vermont in June of 2006. He begins his ninth season with the Catamounts in 2011-12, and his 21st year in the coaching profession.

Micheletto followed head coach Kevin Sneddon to Burlington after serving a four-year stint as an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1999 to 2003. Prior to his time in South Bend, Ind., he worked alongside Sneddon at Union College as his top assistant.

Micheletto serves as Vermont's director of recruiting. His primary responsibilities also include working with the Catamount forwards, power play, videotape analysis, practice planning, and bench coaching duties.

Before moving to the collegiate level, Micheletto spent five years (1991-96) in the prep ranks at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa. Micheletto served as the Dean of Students, an instructor of English, and a dorm parent. As the head coach of the hockey team, he helped resurrect the program during his tenure. While at The Hill, he recruited and coached former Catamount goaltender James Tierney '98.

Micheletto has been heavily involved with USA Hockey during his career both on the national and international level. He spent six summers as a coach for the Atlantic District Select teams that competed at USA Hockey's Junior Olympic Festival. In August of 2000, he was selected as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Select Team which competed at the Four Nations Tournament in Kezmarok, Slovakia. Micheletto helped guide Team USA to five wins before falling to Canada in the championship game.

A Chicago area native, Micheletto graduated from Milton (Mass.) Academy in 1984 where he served as team captain and boarding school president. Micheletto then attended Dartmouth College, graduating with a degree in English modified with Education. He pursued a professional hockey career, which included stops with the Enschede Lions of the Netherlands First Division and the Erie (Pa.) Golden Blades of the now defunct Atlantic Coast Hockey League.

Micheletto and his wife Melinda were married in the summer of 2004. They reside in Essex Junction with their cat and three rescued dogs.

Joey Gasparini, a 2006 graduate of the University of Vermont, enters his third season as an assistant men's hockey coach at his alma mater in 2011-12. Gasparini joined the Vermont staff in September of 2009.

"Joey was a great student-athlete at the University of Vermont helping our program to improve during the three years he played for us," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "He is very well respected by alumni, fans, faculty members and his colleagues in college and professional hockey. He has worked extremely hard to develop a strong network that will enable him to have an immediate impact on our future recruiting. He is passionate about Vermont and is very honored to be back in Catamount Country."

Gasparini played for the Catamounts from 2002 to 2006 and served as an assistant captain during his senior season. He played in 128 games in his career as a forward registering 34 points (12g, 22a). He was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team in 2006 and was named to the ECAC All-Academic Team in 2004 and 2005.

"I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to return to Vermont to work at a program with such rich tradition," Gasparini said. "Kevin and John (Micheletto) have done a tremendous job building on past successes to elevate UVM hockey into a premier program. I think I can add some youthful energy and a perspective current and future student-athletes can easily relate to."

Before joining the Catamounts, Gasparini was the Director of Scouting and Recruiting for Achieve Sports Management in Chicago, Ill. He oversaw all aspects of recruiting, including player identification and evaluation.

Following graduation from UVM, Gasparini spent the 2006-07 season serving as a regional scout with the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in the United States Hockey League. The following year he joined the Fargo Force in the USHL as a regional scout.

Gasparini is a native of Grand Forks, N.D. He graduated from UVM with a degree in economics and political science. He and his wife Amanda were married in the summer of 2010.

Terry Lovelette rejoins the Vermont coaching staff for his 18th season in 2011-12, serving as a volunteer goaltending coach. During his time at Vermont, Lovelette has worked closely with the Catamount goaltenders, including Tim Thomas '97 of the Boston Bruins, who won the 2009 Vezina Trophy, given annually to the top goalie in the National Hockey League. Lovelette has developed several goaltenders that have experienced success at various levels of professional hockey, including the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and in Europe.

A native of St. Albans, Vt., and a former goalie at Bellows Free Academy High School, Lovelette played hockey at BFA under Bill Beaney, now the hockey coach at Middlebury College. In 1986, Lovelette returned to his alma mater as a coach, assisting Dennis "Red" Gendron (now with Massachusetts) for the first three years and serving under former Catamount standout Toby Ducolon '88 for the next three years.

Since graduating from high school in 1976, he has spent the last 30 plus years working for IBM in Essex Junction, Vt., and stayed involved in the game of hockey. Lovelette can frequently be found volunteering his time at local youth hockey practices, and he spent 10 years as the USA Hockey Coaching Director for Vermont and was a member of the Vermont State Amateur Hockey Association Executive Board. He has also worked at the Vermont Player Development Program, USA Hockey's New England Development Camp, and USA Hockey's National Goaltending Camp. Lovelette is also the Co-Director of the very successful Vermont Goaltenders Academy.

Lovelette lives in St. Albans, Vt. He has three children: Molly, Adam and Shaun.