Vermont Spoils Hockey East Debut for Notre Dame

Burlington, VT -- Freshman Mario Puskarich scored with 1:44 to play in regulation to send Vermont past Notre Dame in the conference opener for both teams. Senior forward Chris McCarthy also scored for the Catamounts who won, 2-1, in the first Hockey East conference game ever played by Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish joined Hockey East after years in the CCHA. Jeff Jackson's team started 5-0, but has now lost two in a row after tonight's setback at the Gutterson Field House. Senior forward Bryan Rust scored his first goal of the season in the defeat.

The game was a defensive showdown with only 40 combined shots between the teams. Notre Dame goaltender Steven Summerhays made 17 stops on 19 shots while UVM freshman Michael Santaguida saved 20 of the 21 shots he faced. Vermont improves to 2-1-1 on the season with the victory.

The same two teams will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.