Vermont hockey, basketball: How Catamount teams fared Jan. 6-8

Jacob Rousseau, Burlington Free Press
·4 min read

How did University of Vermont women's hockey, men's hockey, men's basketball and women's basketball teams fare from Jan. 6-8? Read on below.

FRIDAY'S GAME

Women’s hockey

Vermont 2, Providence 0

V: Lara Beecher 2G. Lily Humphrey 1A. Evelyne Blais-Savoie 1A. Krista Parkkonen 1A. Hailey Burns 1A. Jessie McPherson 16 saves.

P: Sandra Abstreiter 22 saves.

Note: No. 13 Vermont scored just 1:17 into the first period and held off No. 9 Providence's attack (31 shots; 16 on goal) for the remainder of the game. Beecher scored again at the 1:36 mark of the third period to secure the first win of 2023 for the Catamounts (14-7-1). UVM dominated the faceoff margin 30-13 in the rematch of last season's Hockey East quarterfinals. McPherson's 32nd win tied Madison Litchfield for the program record. Vermont is on a three-game win streak.

SATURDAY'S GAMES

Women’s basketball

Vermont 72, New Hampshire 55

V: Paula Gonzalez 15 points. Catherine Gilwee 14 points. Delaney Richason 13 points. Emma Utterback 10 points, 5 assists.

NH: Avery O'Connor 15 points. Paige Cote 13 points. Brooke Kane 11 points.

Note: Host Vermont ended the first half on a 13-7 to take a 33-27 lead at the break. A second run, started by a Gilwee trey with 8:43 left, put the Catamounts (10-6, 2-2) up 49-34 in the third frame. UNH came within eight early in the fourth but Gonzalez, who had a career high, and Vermont kept the Wildcats from threatening.

Women’s hockey

Vermont 4, Providence 1

V: Natalie Mlynkova 1G. Corinne McCool 1G, 1A. Lara Beecher 1G. Lilly Holmes 1G, 1A. Hailey Burns 1A. Evelyne Blais-Savoie 1A. Theresa Schafzahl 1A. Jessie McPherson 25 saves.

P: Hunter Barnett 1G. Sandra Abstreiter 20 saves.

Note: Vermont capped a dominating weekend sweep over No. 9 Providence with three goals in the first period. The triumph secured McPherson atop the record books with 33 wins, a program best. The 13th ranked Catamounts scored midway through the first period on Mlynkova's rocket from McCool. UVM tallied again just three minutes later, this time McCool was on the scoring end via Holmes' pass in front of the net. Beecher finished the first period with her third goal of the series with just minutes left in the opening frame. "We couldn't have scripted a better start tonight and that really made it difficult for Providence," Vermont coach Jim Plumer said in a statement. Vermont (15-7-1, 10-5-1) plays at Providence next on Jan. 13.

SUNDAY'S GAME

Men's basketball

New Hampshire 67, Vermont 60

NH: Nick Johnson 16 points, 16 points. Matthew Herasme 16 points. Jaxson Baker 13 points.

V: Robin Duncan 15 points, 8 rebounds. Finn Sullivan 14 points. Aaron Deloney 13 points.

Note: Fresh off a nationally televised regular season win and coach John Becker's record-breaking triumph Vermont dropped to New Hampshire for the first time since 2015. The Wildcats, who had previously lost to Vermont 15 straight times, ran to a 23-9 lead with 9:26 left in the first half and was paced by six straight points by Johnson. Hosts New Hampshire shot just 39% from the field for the game, but led wire-to-wire with the blazing opening half start (14 of 30). The Catamounts (8-9) pulled within one with 4:57 left in regulation, but could not gain the advantage. Vermont shot 44.44% in the second half. The Wildcats outscored Vermont 10-4 over the last four minutes. Vermont returns to action at UMass Lowell on Wednesday.

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Men's hockey

Yale 1, Vermont 1

Y: Briggs Gammill 1G. Niklas Allain 1A. David Chen 1A. Luke Pearson 31 saves.

V: Jacques Bouquot 1G. Robbie Stucker 1A. Andrei Buyalsky 1A. Oskar Autio 20 saves.

Notes: Vermont (7-12-2) knotted the game with one minute left in the first period on a power-play goal by Bouquot, his fifth of the season. The Catamounts won the shots on goal margin 35-23 and total shots 62-45, but managed just one goal for the seventh time this season. UVM also held a 37-27 advantage in faceoffs.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont hockey, basketball: How Catamount teams fared Jan. 6-8