University of Vermont

Tonight on NBCSN: Hockey East playoffs — No. 5 Boston College hosts Vermont

By Joe YerdonMar 15, 2013, 12:26 PM EDT

It’s Game One of the Hockey East quarterfinals and this is when Jerry York’s Eagles usually start to shine.

Boston College Eagles (20-10-4) vs. Vermont Catamounts (11-17-6) – 7:00 p.m. ET

Season series: Boston College went 2-0-1 against Vermont

Things didn’t quite go how BC expected them to. They’ve become accustomed to finishing high atop the Hockey East standings when the regular season ends. This time around they are but the No. 2 team behind UMass-Lowell it what turned out to be a very close race for No. 1. Don’t let that fool you into thinking there’s something wrong with these Eagles.

Boston College can score plenty of goals. Calgary Flames prospect Johnny Gaudreau (pictured) finished the regular season tops in points with 46 including 18 goals. Senior forward Steven Whitney has been just as dangerous as well scoring 24 goals and finishing with 41 points. BC also boasts two more players with over 30 points (Pat Mullane and Flames prospect Bill Arnold) and junior Blackhawks prospect Kevin Hayes is nearly there himself.

When you compare that to what Vermont has, it makes the Catamounts pale in comparison. Junior forward Chris McCarthy is their only player with 30 points and he leads the team in goals with 13. He’s also their only double-digit goal scorer so far this season. Sophomore forwards Jacob Fallon and Kyle Reynolds are their only other two players with 20 or more points.

If Vermont stands a chance of pulling a huge upset, they’ll need freshman goalie Brody Hoffman to play out of his mind while sustaining the BC attack. They’re also going to need help from Eagles senior netminder Parker Milner in hoping he’s not-so sharp. Vermont was able to score on him a bit during last weekend’s final games earning a 4-4 tie on Friday night, but they’ll have to forget about the 7-2 drubbing they took the following night.

If there’s anything that can help Vermont it’s that Boston College hasn’t dominated at home this year going just 9-5-2 at Conte Forum and just 7-5-1 in Hockey East games. All that said, this is the time of year when we start to see the best out of Jerry York’s teams, don’t expect that to change this weekend.

PHT Morning Skate: Joffrey Lupul was having a hard time in Russia

By Joe YerdonDec 20, 2012, 8:50 AM EDT

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PHT’s Morning Skate takes a look around the world of hockey to see what’s happening and what we’ll be talking about around the NHL world and beyond.

Joffrey Lupul wasn’t just having a rough time getting reservations in Toronto, he found life in Russia difficult as well. Even talking to girls is hard there! (AskMen.com)

No, the heirs to the Stanley Cup won’t be trying to reclaim the trophy. (Canadian Press)

Lockout stuff: Donald Fehr says he’s waiting on the NHL to come talk to the players. Care to guess what the league is waiting on? You got it. (CSNPhilly.com)

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says it’s way past time to get things settled. (Tribune-Review)

Stefan Noesen talks about being forced to miss World Juniors thanks to his 10-game suspension in the OHL. (Senators Extra)

Nick Kypreos and Doug MacLean will coach the CHL/NHL Top Prospects game. (Sportsnet)

You totally want to vote for Louie, the St. Louis Blues mascot for Cartoon Network’s “Most Awesome Mascot” award. (Blues, Cartoon Network)

Today marks Day 96 of the NHL lockout and it might be time to call in Tomas Holmstrom’s backside to help get this whole thing squared away.

Finally to lift your spirits, the University of Vermont women’s hockey team want to sing a Christmas classic to you. (YouTube)

Tonight on NBCSN: No. 10 Dartmouth hosts scrappy Vermont

By Joe YerdonDec 5, 2012, 8:45 AM EDT

It’s a mid-week, inter-conference battle deep in the heart of the northeast that sees an ECAC team favored over a Hockey East team.

University of Vermont (3-7-3) @ No. 10 Dartmouth College (6-2-2) — 7:00 p.m. ET

Dartmouth started off the year unbeaten in their first six but in their next four games have won just just once and drawing twice. They’ve gotten outstanding goaltending from junior Cab Morris (1.97 GAA, .917 SV%) and steady scoring from sophomore Tyler Sikura (6 goals, 9 assists) but the real story is how good they’ve been killing penalties.

The Big Green PK has given up just one power play goal all season, killing off 35 of 36 penalties through 10 games. While those kinds of numbers are seemingly unsustainable, they’re doing something right to keep opponents off the board. Coach Bob Gaudet has his team beating the odds so far having the team ranked in the NCAA top ten.

As for Vermont, things haven’t gone quite so smoothly. They’re off to a tough start but, unlike last season, they’re playing with a lot of heart. After a three-point weekend against Maine this past weekend and valiant efforts being swept by No. 5 Minnesota, the Catamounts are scrappy.

Senior forward Chris McCarthy is doing his part to lead the offence with four goals and six assists while it’s freshman goalie Brody Hoffman who has shouldered the load in net playing all but 35 minutes worth of ice time in goal this season. Some of that scrappy play tonight might come in handy against a Dartmouth team that’s slipped of late.

The ECAC is off to a strong start, but piling up non-conference wins is key to keeping up appearances for the league.

NHL prospects to watch

If you’re eyeing guys who have been drafted, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled on Vermont. Sophomore defenseman Michael Paliotta is a Blackhawks prospect and he does most of his work setting others up (four assists) and mixing things up (24 PIM). Fellow sophomore blue liner Nick Luukko is a Flyers draftee (his father Peter is a heavy hitter with Comcast and the Flyers organization) and junior forward Connor Brickley (Florida) is the nephew of Bruins broadcaster Andy Brickley. Nice roots there.

As for Dartmouth, they’ve got but one draftee in senior forward Dustin Walsh, a Montreal prospect. With two goals and four assists so far this season, he’s worth keeping an eye on. The undrafted Sikura as well as forwards Eric Robinson, Matt Lindblad, and Brandon McNally should help spice up the DC attack.

(Photo: Dartmouth Sports)

AHL MVP looks to Martin St. Louis as inspiration to make the NHL

By Joe YerdonOct 21, 2012, 11:00 PM EDT

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If you were to see Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Cory Conacher up close, you’d probably look right past him.

Generously listed at 5’8″ and 180 pounds he doesn’t stand out physically with their AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. On the ice, however, he’s the defending AHL MVP after scoring 39 goals with 41 assists for the Calder Cup-winning Norfolk Admirals.

With big talent and small stature as well as hailing from a small college program at Canisius, he’s got someone in Tampa Bay to emulate in Martin St. Louis. Like Conacher, St. Louis went undrafted and put up big numbers in college at the University of Vermont and Conacher is more than flattered by comparisons.

“There’s people out there that kind of relate me to St. Louis,” Conacher says. “But I’ve still got a long way to go. He was my mentor going into camp last year and he taught me a lot.”

“It’s a huge compliment to me to be considered even in the same range as him. Hopefully one of these days I can play alongside him in a regular season game. Obviously the lockout has to end and if that happens that’d be a dream come true. I look up to a guy like him.”

With the lockout in full effect, Conacher is finding himself up against NHL-level defenseman and through the Crunch’s first four games, he’s still piling up points. Conacher is enjoying the challenge.

“It gives you a bit of confidence when that happens. It’s not just me, it’s my awesome, awesome linemates (Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat) that we have. We had chemistry last year and it came back pretty quick so far this year.”

If he can keep scoring goals and defend his MVP award, he’ll have the Lightning front office hoping he can keep being “awesome” at the NHL level.

Martin St. Louis: The ultimate complementary player

By Joe YerdonAug 4, 2012, 3:36 PM EDT

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When you look at the career of Martin St. Louis, one thing stands out amongst everything else: Consistency.

Since 2002-03 he’s had 70+ points in each season except for one (05-06). During Tampa’s Stanley Cup title season in 2004, he led the NHL in points with 95 and won the Hart Trophy as the league MVP. He was a finalist for MVP in 2011 after putting up 99 points and leading the Lightning to the Eastern Conference finals.

With all those individual accolades and statistics, he’s been the guy that’s helped both Vinny Lecavalier and Steve Stamkos reach stardom.

In 2006-07 when Lecavalier had a career-high 52 goals and 108 points, it was St. Louis there riding shotgun with him with 102 points of his own. While Stamkos was busy scoring 60 goals last season, again it was St. Louis along for the ride with 74 points many of which came in helping Stamkos reach a milestone number. That ability to complement another’s play so well is rare.

The Lightning’s success over the years has always been seemingly on and off, but it’s been St. Louis that’s been the rock. Not bad for a guy who went undrafted out of the University of Vermont and whom the Calgary Flames gave up on after two seasons.