Vermont clawed, but ultimately proved it didn't belong

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

(Note: This is the first of a three-part series analyzing the performances of all three Hockey East teams in their respective regionals in the NCAA tournament last weekend.)

Vermont was the prototypical team that was just happy to be there. Granted, the Catamounts would never admit that, but given the way their season went, they had to be.

Vermont rode a strong start against non-conference opponents and a Hockey East tournament quarterfinal series win over UNH to make up for a lackluster showing through the regular-season conference schedule, sneaking in with Alaska as one of the final at-large bids.

Vermont drew high-scoring Wisconsin in the first round and actually led, 2-1, heading into the second period, but then played right into the Badgers' hands and lost the game. The Badgers' dangerous power play, which had already scored one goal, was given two power plays in the second period and the Badgers converted both of them to give themselves the winning margin.

In total, Wisconsin had seven man-advantages in the game as Vermont picked up nine penalties for a total of 18 minutes in the box, which is uncharacteristic for the Catamounts, who only accrued an average of 11 PIM's over the course of the season. Vermont was only able to score once in five power play opportunities. It was not a good scenario for the team that ranked last in Hockey East in special teams net at minus-10.

One player Vermont couldn't have asked for anything more from is goalie Rob Madore. The sophomore made 39 saves on 42 shots and really didn't have a chance on the game-winner scored by Blake Geoffrion as he was left alone between the circles.

Over the course of the postseason (conference and national), Madore was pretty tough. He finished the postseason with a 2-3-0 record and took the loss in a 7-4 loss in the first game of the Hockey East quarterfinals, but bounced back to record back-to-back shutouts against a high-powered Wildcats offense. He faced 147 shots between the conference and NCAA tournament and stopped 137 of them, good for an impressive .932 save percentage. In his last two games, both losses to teams in the Frozen Four, he stopped 69 of 75 shots, a .920 SVPCT.