Articles

Providence Skates Past Vermont 5-2 in Men's Hockey

Details

Created on Saturday, 05 November 2011 03:51

Written by George Commo

Friars 3-7 on powerplay

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Tim Schaller netted his first career hat trick as Providence defeated Vermont 5-2 in Hockey East action at Schneider Arena on Friday night. The Catamounts entered the night with a nine-game unbeaten streak against the Friars dating back to February 9, 2008.

Schaller scored two of his goals on the power play and added a third tally shorthanded early in the second period which proved to be the game-winner for Providence. The Friars finished the night 3-7 with the man advantage and evened their record at 3-3-1 (3-2-0 HEA), while the Catamounts fell to 1-4-0 (0-3-0 HEA) on the season.

“We gave up easy goals tonight, and that's what has plagued us all year,” said head coach Kevin Sneddon. “Our attention to detail defensively has been despicable in my opinion. It doesn't matter what the systems are, that's a mentality. Until our guys realize that we've got to play well defensively, we're not going to win hockey games.”

Vermont got off to a sparkling start less than two minutes into the first period as Connor Brickley hopped onto the ice for his first shift. The sophomore took a pass from classmate Nick Bruneteau just inside the Friar blueline and carried the puck with speed down the right wing. Brickley then cut in through the low slot and patiently outwaited Alex Beaudry, firing a low shot under the senior for his fourth goal of the season. 

Providence answered with exactly six minutes remaining in the opening period after an offensive zone faceoff to the left of Rob Madore. Ross Mauermann won the draw back to Daniel New, who blasted a shot toward Madore. The senior netminder stopped the shot initially but was unable to control the rebound, and Mauermann roofed the loose puck to even the score 1-1.

Less than five minutes later, Providence took its first lead of the night on the power play after Kyle Reynolds was called for a minor penalty. New blasted a low shot from the right point that was deflected by Schaller through the legs of Madore for a 2-1 PC lead. The Catamounts outshot the Friars 15-10 in the opening 20 minutes but went 0-2 with the man advantage. 

Early in the second period, a Derek Army tripping minor gave Vermont its third power play of the night, but an unfortunate bounce would lead to Schaller's second straight goal. Providence fired a long clearing pass toward Vermont's left corner, but the puck took a weird hop and headed towards the net. Schaller picked up the loose puck, walked in alone and stuffed a rebound home at the near post after Madore had stopped the original breakaway.

The Friars took the two-goal advantage into the third period, but the Catamounts responded quickly and made it a one-goal game within a minute. Drew MacKenzie took a feed from Chris McCarthy, walked in from the right point, and fired a high shot on Beaudry. The netminder dropped the puck and it trickled over the goal line to cut the Providence lead in half. McCarthy and Sebastian Stalberg picked up the assists on MacKenzie's first goal of the season.

After an unsuccessful UVM power play, Providence went back on the man-up at 5:28 of the third after Colin Markison was called for interference. On the ensuing power play, Damian Cross one-timed a pass from Myles Harvey at the left faceoff dot with Derek Army providing a screen on Madore. The senior made the initial save, but Army fired the rebound off the post and lifted the second rebound over Madore to restore the two-goal advantage.

Schaller's third tally of the night made it 5-2 Providence at 12:43 of the final frame. Starting from the right corner, the junior walked out in front and buried a low shot to the far post for his hat trick. Vermont pulled Madore with less than two minutes remaining, but couldn't convert on a late two-man advantage in a 6-on-4 situation. Despite some promising pressure, UVM went 0-3 on the power play in the third period and finished the night 0-9.

“The disappointing thing with the power play was that we had opportunities to finish and we didn't," said Sneddon. "We had a ton of opportunities and we just weren't hungry enough around the net to make it count. We generated a ton of scoring chances, we just didn't finish.”

Vermont and Providence wrap up their two-game series tomorrow night with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff at Schneider Arena. The game will be televised on COX Sports throughout Rhode Island and parts of Connecticut. It can also be heard live on WVMT 620-AM and on the Internet at SportsJuice.com, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.

NOTES: Vermont was 5-0-4 against Providence in the previous nine meetings between the schools, outscoring the Friars 30-11 during that span … First year Providence head coach Nate Leaman took over for Kevin Sneddon at Union when Sneddon accepted his position at UVM in 2003 … With Friday's start, Rob Madore (103 GP) moved past Tom Draper '87 into sole possession of third place in games played by a Vermont goalie … Madore now trails only Joe Fallon '08 (132 GP) and Tim Thomas '97 (140 GP) in the all-time ranks … Vermont outshot Providence 34-30.