BURLINGTON, Vt. - Axel Mangbo made 26 saves Saturday night to pick up his second shutout of the season as Vermont topped #17 UMass 4-0 in Hockey East action from Gutterson Fieldhouse. Saturday was the Catamounts annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by TD Bank and benefiting the King Street Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Vermont opened the scoring 72 seconds into the contest with a great burst of speed from junior Massimo Lombardi. Luca Münzenberger chipped the puck into an empty area in the neutral zone and Lombardi beat a UMass defender to the puck and then beat him to the outside before firing a wrist shot home for his fourth goal of the year. Timofei Spitserov also earned an assist on the tally.
- Münzenberger doubled the Catamounts lead with his second goal of the season at the 14:14 mark of the first period. On the forecheck Simon Jellus pressured a UMass defender into a poor breakout pass. Münzenberger gathered the loose puck at the point and fired it on net. UMass' Michael Hrabal never saw the puck as Jellus also provided a perfectly times screen and it was in.
- Following the second UVM goal UMass pulled Hrabal and inserted sophomore goaltender Jackson Irving. Irving would stop all 11 shots he faced Saturday evening.
- The Catamounts closed out their second conference win of the campaign with empty-net goals from Spitserov (16:52) and Joel Määttä (19:09).
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- UVM is now 3-0-1 in its last three games against UMass, in all four contests the Minutemen have been ranked.
- In three starts this season sophomore Alex Mangbo has two shutouts. Mangbo is the only goaltender in Hockey East with two shutouts in league play this season.
- Nationally Mangbo is one of eight goaltenders with two shutouts this season.
- This evening was UMass' first shutout defeat since falling 1-0 to No. 5 Maine on February 3, 2024, a total of 22 games.
- Tonight was defensive stalwart Luca Münzenberger's second career multi-point game.
- With another assist this evening First Year Max Strand leads the Catamounts with seven helpers this year. He is also tied for team lead with eight points. His seven assists are tied for 25th in the NCAA.
- With tonight's 4-0 decision, Community Bank N.A. will donate $300 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 the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Vermont Children's Trust Foundation as part of the Cats Wins, Community Wins Initiative.
UP NEXT
Vermont is back at the Gut next weekend as they host No. 16 UMass Lowell in a two-game series. The teams will faceoff at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 15 and 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. Friday night is Can for Coffee Night presented by Keurig Dr Pepper. Fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item and they will receive free coffee.
The weekend action will air live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan on the call. As always, it will also be broadcast live on WVMT (96.3 FM/620 AM) with the voice of the Catamounts Adam Lafleur in the Handy Toyota Broadcast Booth.
