2023–24 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season

2023–24 Vermont Catamounts
men's ice hockey season
Conference9th Hockey East
Home iceGutterson Fieldhouse
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall13–19–3
Conference7–14–3
Home8–8–0
Road5–11–3
Coaches and captains
Head coachSteve Wiedler
Assistant coachesScott Moser
Brendan Bradley
Shane Madolora
Captain(s)Will Zapernick
Alternate captain(s)Jérémie Bucheler
Zach Dubinsky
Joel Määttä
Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season was the 68th season of play for the program, the 51st at the Division I level and the 19th in Hockey East. The Catamounts represented the University of Vermont, played their home games at the Gutterson Fieldhouse and were coached by Steve Wiedler in his 1st season.

Season

During the summer, Todd Woodcroft was fired after an internal investigation by the college determine that the coach had exchanged inappropriate text messages with a student.[1] Because the investigation had taken four months, by the time it concluded there was relatively little time to conduct a hiring search before this season. The Athletic department chose simply to promote Steve Wiedler to interim head coach and keep the rest of the staff in place.

With off ice issues settled for the moment, the team set about fixing their biggest problem; the lack of offense. The '23 Catamounts were one of the worst scoring team in the country, averaging less than 2 goals per game for the season. With that in mind it was perhaps a good thing that there were so many new faces for the program in '24. The team had trouble out of the gate with the new roster and coach struggling to find consistency. Vermont, too, was hampered by the vast strides for the rest of the conference as Hockey East was the top ranked league in college hockey that season.[2] However, despite the difficulties, the Catamounts were able to take a step forward and climb out of the cellar.

The offense saw a slight improvement as the year went on with Jens Richards making huge strides in his game. The forward went from 4 points as a freshman to leading the team in his sophomore season. While the overall numbers weren't outstanding, the more-than 5-fold improvement was not something to be discounted. In goal, Gabe Carriere held the fort and kept Vermont in the game on most nights. Even when facing nationally ranked teams, the Catamounts proved to be a tough team to beat and they managed to win their fair share of games. By the end of the season, Vermont was 9th in the standings but, with how difficult their schedule had been, they were in the middle of the PairWise rankings. While the dearth of offensives punch cost them in the playoffs, the team had progressed and looked better than they had in years.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Oskar Autio Goaltender  Finland Graduation (signed with Allen Americans)
Jacques Bouquot Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Penn State
Finn Evans Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Indy Fuel)
Eric Gotz Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Krefeld Pinguine)
Cole Hudson Goaltender  Canada Transferred to American International
Joe Leahy Defenseman  Canada Graduation (signed with Greenville Swamp Rabbits)
William Lemay Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Trois-Rivières Lions)
Carter Long Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Savannah Ghost Pirates)
Luke Mountain Forward  United States Transferred to Augsburg
Porter Schachle Defenseman  Canada Transferred to Alaska Anchorage
Robbie Stucker Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Jesper Tarkiainen Forward  Finland Left program (retired)

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Nick Ahern Forward  United States 20 Chicago, IL; joined mid-season
Eli Barnett Defenseman  Canada 20 Ottawa, ON; selected 195th overall in 2022
Jérémie Bucheler Defenseman  Canada 23 Montreal, QC; graduate transfer from Northeastern
Matt Cato Forward  Canada 20 Whitby, ON
Mateo Dixon Forward  Canada 21 Toronto, ON
Zach Dubinsky Forward  United States 23 Highland Park, IL; graduate transfer from Michigan State
Mario Gasparini Defenseman  United States 20 Lakeville, MN
Connor Mackenzie Goaltender  Canada 21 Toronto, ON
Jack Malinski Defenseman  United States 21 Lakeville, MN
Axel Mangbo Goaltender  Sweden 20 Höganäs, SWE
Ryan Miotto Forward  Canada 24 Thorold, ON; graduate transfer from Canisius
Duncan Ramsay Defenseman  Canada 19 Halifax, NS
Daniel Sambuco Forward  United States 20 Springfield, PA
Chris Théodore Forward  Canada 25 Beaconsfield, QC; graduate transfer from Union

Roster

As of January 18, 2024.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Ontario Connor MacKenzie Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-05-10 Toronto, Ontario Grande Prairie (AJHL) —
2 Ontario Eli Barnett Freshman D 6' 6" (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 2003-09-16 Ottawa, Ontario Victoria (BCHL) SJS, 195th overall 2022
4 Quebec Jérémie Bucheler (A) Graduate D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2000-03-31 Saint-Laurent, Quebec Northeastern (HEA) —
7 Quebec Chris Théodore Graduate F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-10-15 Beaconsfield, Quebec Union (ECAC) —
9 Finland Joel Määttä (A) Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2002-07-06 Helsinki, Finland Sioux City (USHL) EDM, 222nd overall 2022
10 Minnesota Mario Gasparini Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-02-28 Lakeville, Minnesota Wenatchee (BCHL) —
11 Ontario Mateo Dixon Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-08-19 Toronto, Ontario Coquitlam (BCHL) —
12 Kazakhstan Andrei Buyalsky Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-08-18 Karaganda, Kazakhstan Dubuque (USHL) COL, 92nd overall 2021
13 Russia Timofei Spitserov Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 2002-03-26 Saint Petersburg, Russia Culver (Midget AAA) SJS, 210th overall 2020
14 British Columbia Dawson Good Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2002-04-17 Abbotsford, British Columbia Chilliwack (BCHL) —
15 Germany Luca Münzenberger Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-11-24 Düsseldorf, Germany Kölner U20 (DNL) EDM, 90th overall 2021
16 Alberta Will Zapernick (C) Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-11-16 Edmonton, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL) —
17 Ontario Matt Cato Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2003-09-15 Whitby, Ontario Trenton (OJHL) —
18 Quebec Massimo Lombardi Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-05-18 Beaconsfield, Quebec Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
19 Slovakia Simon Jellúš Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2001-01-18 Ilava, Slovakia Karlskrona J20 (J20 Nationell) —
20 Ontario Xavier Henry Sophomore D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 2001-03-20 Scarborough, Ontario Chilliwack (BCHL) —
21 Pennsylvania Daniel Sambuco Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-06-10 Springfield, Pennsylvania Lincoln (USHL) —
22 Sweden Isak Walther Junior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 2001-08-02 Södertälje, Sweden Södertälje J20 (J20 Nationell) NSH, 179th overall 2019
23 Ontario Ryan Miotto Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-07-11 Thorold, Ontario Canisius (AHA) —
24 Nova Scotia Duncan Ramsay Freshman D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2004-02-08 Halifax, Nova Scotia Chilliwack (BCHL) —
25 Minnesota Jack Malinski Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-06-23 Lakeville, Minnesota Austin (NAHL) —
26 Ontario Thomas Sinclair Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2002-12-26 Toronto, Ontario Fargo (USHL) —
28 Alberta Lucas Jones Sophomore D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2001-02-24 Calgary, Alberta Fort McMurray (AJHL) —
29 Minnesota Jens Richards Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2002-12-14 Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Austin (NAHL) —
32 Illinois Zach Dubinsky (A) Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-03-14 Highland Park, Illinois Michigan State (Big Ten) —
33 Sweden Philip Törnqvist Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2001-08-24 Gothenburg, Sweden Wichita Falls (NAHL) —
35 Ontario Gabe Carriere Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-11-05 Ottawa, Ontario Waterloo (USHL) —
37 Illinois Nick Ahern Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2002-12-02 Chicago, Illinois Johnstown (NAHL) —
39 Latvia Ralfs Bergmanis Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-03-13 Liepāja, Latvia Sioux City (USHL) —
50 Sweden Axel Mangbo Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-04-15 Höganäs, Sweden Sioux City (USHL) —

Standings

2023–24 Hockey East Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#2 Boston College †* 24 20 3 1 1 0 1 61 105 56 41 34 6 1 183 89
#3 Boston University 24 18 4 2 1 1 1 57 104 53 40 28 10 2 163 97
#10 Maine 24 14 9 1 0 1 0 44 76 67 37 23 12 2 119 94
#16 Providence 24 11 9 4 3 1 2 37 66 58 35 18 13 4 100 83
#13 Massachusetts 24 12 10 2 4 2 0 36 57 62 37 20 14 3 108 105
#20 New Hampshire 24 12 11 1 1 0 0 36 69 56 36 20 15 1 106 90
Northeastern 24 9 14 1 1 3 0 30 65 71 36 17 16 3 113 97
Connecticut 24 9 14 1 1 1 1 29 49 77 36 15 19 2 90 105
Vermont 24 7 14 3 1 0 3 26 52 81 35 13 19 3 87 106
Merrimack 24 6 17 1 0 1 1 21 62 85 35 13 21 1 98 114
Massachusetts Lowell 24 4 17 3 1 4 0 18 39 78 36 8 24 4 72 113
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion (Lamoriello Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO Division I Men's Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 7 2:00 pm McGill* Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont (Exhibition) ESPN+ Carriere W 4–0  2,896
Regular Season
October 13 7:00 pm at St. Lawrence* Appleton Arena • Canton, New York ESPN+ Carriere W 3–1  1,076 1–0–0
October 14 7:00 pm at Clarkson* Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York ESPN+ Carriere L 2–3  2,459 1–1–0
October 27 7:00 pm at #7 Providence Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Carriere L 1–4  2,074 1–2–0 (0–1–0)
October 28 7:00 pm at #7 Providence Schneider Arena • Providence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Carriere T 2–2 SOW 1,727 1–2–1 (0–1–1)
November 3 7:00 pm Connecticut Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 4–1  2,796 2–2–1 (1–1–1)
November 4 6:00 pm Connecticut Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 2–5  3,235 2–3–1 (1–2–1)
November 10 7:00 pm at #14 Massachusetts Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Carriere L 1–4  4,272 2–4–1 (1–3–1)
November 11 6:00 pm at #14 Massachusetts Mullins Center • Amherst, Massachusetts ESPN+ Carriere W 6–2  4,461 3–4–1 (2–3–1)
November 18 7:00 pm at American International* MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Carriere L 1–2  604 3–5–1
December 1 7:00 pm #10 Massachusetts Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 2–1 OT 2,748 4–5–1 (3–3–1)
December 3 4:00 pm Massachusetts Lowell Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 1–2  2,461 4–6–1 (3–4–1)
December 8 7:00 pm Union* Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 4–5  2,061 4–7–1
December 9 7:00 pm Union* Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 4–1  2,122 5–7–1
December 16 7:00 pm at Long Island* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York ESPN+ Carriere W 3–2  700 6–7–1
December 17 7:15 pm at Long Island* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York ESPN+ Carriere W 5–1  350 7–7–1
December 29 7:00 pm St. Thomas* Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 5–1  2,595 8–7–1
December 30 5:00 pm St. Thomas* Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 4–1  2,652 9–7–1
January 6 6:00 pm at Dartmouth* Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire ESPN+ Carriere L 3–4  3,335 9–8–1
January 12 7:00 pm at Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Carriere W 5–4  2,489 10–8–1 (4–4–1)
January 13 7:30 pm at Northeastern Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Carriere L 1–3  3,121 10–9–1 (4–5–1)
January 19 7:00 pm #1 Boston University Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 1–5  3,640 10–10–1 (4–6–1)
January 20 7:00 pm #1 Boston University Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 2–5  3,486 10–11–1 (4–7–1)
January 26 7:00 pm #17 New Hampshire Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 2–1  2,604 11–11–1 (5–7–1)
January 27 7:00 pm #17 New Hampshire Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 3–6  3,150 11–12–1 (5–8–1)
February 9 7:15 pm at Massachusetts Lowell Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Carriere T 1–1 SOW 5,579 11–12–2 (5–8–2)
February 10 7:15 pm at Massachusetts Lowell Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts ESPN+ Carriere T 3–3 SOW 4,002 11–12–3 (5–8–3)
February 16 7:00 pm Merrimack Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 2–5  2,270 11–13–3 (5–9–3)
February 17 7:30 pm Merrimack Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 4–1  2,565 12–13–3 (6–9–3)
February 23 7:00 pm at #1 Boston College Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+, NESN Carriere L 1–7  7,246 12–14–3 (6–10–3)
February 24 5:00 pm at #1 Boston College Conte Forum • Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+ Carriere L 2–4  6,559 12–15–3 (6–11–3)
March 1 7:00 pm #9 Maine Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere W 2–1  3,218 13–15–3 (7–11–3)
March 2 7:30 pm #9 Maine Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont ESPN+ Carriere L 2–3  3,177 13–16–3 (7–12–3)
March 7 7:00 pm at Connecticut Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Carriere L 1–5  2,691 13–17–3 (7–13–3)
March 9 4:00 pm at #2 Boston University Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Mangbo L 1–6  5,597 13–18–3 (7–14–3)
Hockey East Tournament
March 13 7:00 pm at Connecticut* Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut (Opening Round) ESPN+ Carriere L 1–4  2,021 13–19–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Jens Richards F 32 10 11 21 10
Jérémie Bucheler D 33 6 12 18 27
Ryan Miotto F 35 9 8 17 18
Timofey Spitserov RW 35 7 7 14 6
Chris Théodore LW 30 8 6 14 0
Isak Walther RW 24 5 7 12 6
Will Zapernick C/RW 35 3 9 12 14
Massimo Lombardi C 32 5 7 12 17
Ralfs Bergmanis D 32 2 10 12 60
Andrei Buyalsky C 25 3 8 11 8
Zach Dubinsky F 30 2 9 11 20
Simon Jellúš C/LW 30 6 4 10 2
Joel Määttä C 26 4 5 9 35
Thomas Sinclair C 32 5 4 9 8
Nick Ahern LW 14 1 5 6 10
Philip Törnqvist D 29 2 4 6 12
Jack Malinski D 26 2 4 6 16
Eli Barnett D 24 0 5 5 16
Mateo Dixon C 18 2 2 4 2
Luca Münzenberger D 32 1 2 3 51
Dawson Good F 9 1 2 3 2
Xavier Henry D 22 1 1 2 22
Gabe Carriere G 34 0 2 2 0
Daniel Sambuco F 13 1 0 1 12
Duncan Ramsay D 26 0 1 1 6
Mario Gasparini D 11 1 0 1 4
Lucas Jones D 6 0 0 0 17
Axel Mangbo G 3 0 0 0 0
Total 86 133 219 401

[5]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Gabe Carriere 34 2017:25 13 18 3 93 897 0 .906 2.77
Axel Mangbo 3 83:55 0 1 0 7 42 0 .857 5.00
Empty Net - 16:10 - - - 6 - - - -
Total 35 2117:30 13 19 3 106 939 0 .899 3.00

Rankings

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

References

  1. ^ "UVM Hockey Coach Todd Woodcroft Fired amid Alleged 'Inappropriate' Texts with Student". Bleacher Report. July 19, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  2. ^ "Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  3. ^ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". UVM Athletics. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  4. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Vermont Catamounts. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "Univ. of Vermont 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.