SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Natálie Mlýnková and Theresa Schafzahl each had two points and Jessie McPherson made 19 saves as the 13th ranked Catamounts completed a weekend sweep of Syracuse with a 2-1 win Saturday evening from the Tennity Ice Pavilion. With the win Vermont improves to 13-7-1 this season.
COACH'S QUOTE
"These were incredibly hard fought games this weekend and I'm proud that we found a way to get these wins," Head Coach Jim Plumer said. "Syracuse deserves a ton of credit for the way they played. Credit to Corinne McCool for two huge game-winning goals this weekend and to Jessie McPherson for an outstanding game in net. We are all ready for this break to recharge and be ready for the Hockey East homestretch in 2023."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Mlýnková opened the scoring for the Catamounts on the power play 12:10 into the contest. Sini Karjalainen and Schafzahl passed back and forth along the point before Schafzahl fed a cross-ice pass to Mlýnková as she cut down the wing. As she skated into the slot Mlýnková beat Arielle DeSmet just under her arm for her 13th goal of the season.
- The Orange equalized just 58 seconds later on a partial breakaway. Sarah Thompson fed a pass through the neutral zone to send Rayla Clemons in alone on McPherson. With speed Clemons made a quick move and slipped the puck past McPherson for her third goal of the season.
- Corinne McCool notched the go-ahead goal for Vermont 10:20 into the second period as UVM's top line struck again. Mlýnková started the play in the UVM zone passing to McCool. McCool passed up to Schafzahl and she entered the Syracuse zone with speed. She executed a perfect drop pass to McCool and she ripped a shot under DeSmet's blocker to give UVM the lead.
- In the third period McPherson made eight saves to preserve the Catamounts win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- With today's win the Catamounts have won 25 games in the calendar year of 2022, setting a new program record.
- Lily Humphrey and Sara Levesque each played in their 100th career game for the Catamounts Saturday afternoon.
- With this weekend's sweep Jessie McPherson now has 31 career wins at Vermont. Her next win will tie Madison Litchfield's (2013-17) program record of 32.
- With today's 2-1 decision, 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.
UP NEXT
Following the semester break the Catamounts will host No. 10 Providence in a pivotal weekend series at Gutterson Fieldhouse. Vermont will actually play the Friars in their next three games. On Friday, January 6 the teams will faceoff at 6 p.m. at the Gut and then again on Saturday with a 5 p.m. start. Then the two teams will conclude their season series at Providence on Friday, January 13 with a 6 p.m. contest. The Friars are in second place in Hockey East with 33 points while the Catamounts sit in third place with 28 points.
All three contests will air live 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.
