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Orono, Maine -- Welcome inside the Harold Alfond Arena on the campus of the University of Maine for the first of a two-game Hockey East weekend series between the Black Bears and their opponents from the University of Vermont. The two teams will meet again November 29 and 30 in Burlington for a series that will not count towards the league standings.
Both teams lost the last time out. Maine went 0-1-1 last weekend at Massachusetts, but lost 2-1 in the series finale. Vermont split its weekend series with Notre Dame, winning the first game before blowing a two-goal lead in the second game and succumbing to the Fighting Irish.
Vermont senior Chris McCarthy has two goals and nine assists in his last five games against Maine. Black Bears senior goaltender Martin Ouellette had a .919 save percentage against UVM last season despite the team going 0-2-1 in those three games. Maine swept the season series over the Catamounts the previous year.
Sophomore goaltender Brody Hoffman is getting his first start of the season for the Catamounts. Ouellette is starting his 27 game in a row in net for Maine dating back to last season's game at Northeastern on January 11.
Breaking Down the Matchup
| Statistic (Conference Rank) | Vermont | Maine |
| Record | 2-2-1, 1-1-0 HE | 3-3-1, 0-1-1 HE |
| Road/Home Records | 0-1-1 (Away) | 3-0-0 (Home) |
| Goals Per Game | 2.80 (5th) | 2.57 (8th) |
| Goals Against Per Game | 2.60 (7th) | 2.57 (6th) |
| Power Play Percentage | 9.7 (11th) | 17.5 (5th) |
| Penalty Kill Percentage | 89.7 (2nd) | 81.8 (6th) |
| Top Scorer | Rob Hamilton (1-4--5) | Mark Anthoine (4-2--6) |
| Top Goaltender | Michael Santaguida (2.56/.913) | Martin Ouellette (2.39/.919) |
VERMONT
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Connor Brickley | Jake Fallon | Chris McCarthy |
| Brady Shaw | Matt White | Pete Massar |
| Brendan Bradley | Mike Stenerson | Mario Puskarich |
| Colin Markison | Robert Polesello | H.T. Lenz |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Caylen Walls | Michael Paliotta |
| Rob Hamilton | Nick Bruneteau |
| Nick Luukko | Yvan Pattyn |
| Goaltenders |
| Brody Hoffman |
| Michael Santaguida |
MAINE
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Blaine Byron | Devin Shore | Ryan Lomberg |
| Mark Anthoine | Steven Swavely | Andrew Cerretani |
| Bill Norman | Stu Higgins | Jon Swavely |
| Brian Morgan | Cam Brown | Brady Campbell |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Ben Hutton | Brice O'Connor |
| Jake Rutt | Conor Riley |
| Dan Renouf | Eric Schurhamer |
| Goaltenders |
| Martin Ouellette |
| Dan Sullivan |
| Matt Strickrott |
Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.