BURLINGTON, Vt. - Andrei Buyalsky scored with one minute left in overtime to lift the Catamounts in a 2-1 win over New Hampshire Friday night at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Hockey East action. Friday was Military Appreciation Night presented by Milton CAT and the Catamounts wore specialty jerseys. With tonight's win the Catamounts improve to 3-6-1 on the campaign while the Wildcats fell to 3-7-1.
COACH'S QUOTE
"We were very happy with our game today," Head Coach Todd Woodcroft said. "We played a similar opponent in UNH, a team that understands hard work and never seems to quit. Tonight, we got closer to our five-on-five game that we want to have - we allowed zero goals against at even strength. After a second period that felt like we were chasing the flow, the players performed well in the final frame and into overtime - the shots were 18-3 in that span. We expect UNH to give us their best tomorrow and we are back at work getting ready for it tonight."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Wildcats opened the scoring Friday night 4:34 into the first period. In transition Morgan Winters cut down the wing and while looking to pass snapped a quick shot that snuck under Gabe Carriere's arm for his third goal of the season. Luke Reid and David Fessenden earned assists on the play.
- Vermont answered back just 24 seconds later. A New Hampshire defender had the puck in the slot and Porter Schachle pressured him into a mistake. Dawson Good took advantage of the turnover and passed it back over to Schachle who was suddenly on a two-on-one down low with Will Zapernick. Schachle fed a backhand pass to Zapernick and he one-timed home his third goal of the season.
- The Catamounts controlled the play in the third period outshooting the Wildcats 10-2 as they sought a game-winner. UNH's David Fessenden made two saves on a late UVM power play to force overtime.
- Vermont continued to carry the play in the extra session, outshooting UNH 8-1. Robbie Stucker keyed the Vermont game-winner with an excellent move in transition. Stucker beat a UNH defender one-on-one as he cut to his right he fired back to the left beating Fessenden but not the post. Buyalsky followed the play and stashed his first career game-winner home for the Catamounts.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Vermont's Gabe Carriere remains undefeated against the Wildcats in his career. He's now 2-0-1 with 80 saves in three games.
- Vermont defenseman Eric Gotz blocked a game-high four shots for the Catamounts.
- After being outshot 10-4 in the second period the Catamounts outshot UNH 18-3 in the final 24 minutes of the contest.
- With today's 2-1 win, Community Bank N.A. will donate $150 to Special Olympics Vermont. Community Bank, N.A. donates $75 per goal to Special Olympics Vermont for every goal the men's and women's team scores this season.
- With today's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since the campaigns inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $72,000 to local non-profits.
GAME-WORN JERSEY AUCTION
Today's special edition Military Appreciation jerseys are currently up for auction. The online auction will close on November 18 at 2 p.m. bidding begins at $125. Please visit uvmathletics.com/auctions to place your bids. Proceeds from the jersey auction will benefit the Josh Pallotta Fund.
UP NEXT
The Catamounts and Wildcats are back at it tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Like all conference games will it air on ESPN+. The games will also be available on a pay-per-view basis internationally at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hockeyeast. Subscriptions to the service are available for $9.99 USD per month or $4.99 USD for individual games.
Tomorrow evening we encourage all fans to bring in a new stuffed animal to throw onto the ice as a part of our annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by TD Bank. Fans are asked to throw their stuffed animals after the game to benefit Lund, UVM Children's Hospital, and the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington.
