Vermont 5, St. Lawrence 2
Freshman Brody Hoffman made a career-high 39 saves and the Catamounts scored three goals in the second period en route to their first victory in Canton, N.Y.'s Appleton Arena since 2006. Vermont, which killed off each of its six penalties (now 54 of the last 60), had a season-high five different scorers on its five goals. Senior Tobias Nilsson-Roos skated in his 100th-career game, becoming the second Catamount player to reach the century mark this season, but did not factor into the scoring. However, sophomore forward Kyle Reynolds did factor onto the sheet as he scored his first goal of the season at 3:52 of the second period, while also adding an assist on an empty-netter by junior Matt White that closed the offense in the final 90 seconds of the game. Hoffman made double-digit saves and played the duration for UVM, while SLU junior Matt Weninger (five saves) was replaced for the first time this season after allowing three goals in 27:43. Freshman Kyle MacDonald, a Hanover, Mass. native and Xaverian Brothers product, took over and made nine saves on the final ten shots he faced for the Saints in his first action. The series is UVM's second-longest running against any opponent, trailing only New Hampshire by 13 contests, and has been played since 1971. The win lifted UVM to a 4-8-3 record on the season as it returns to action on Thursday night at Providence's Schneider Arena with hopes of capturing an important season series.
Malden Catholic 5, Delbarton Prep (NJ) 1
This weekend marked the official opening to the high school hockey season around New England and the two-time defending MIAA Super 8 champions started off on the right note in an impressive victory over the visiting Green Wave at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center in the annual Frozen Catholic Challenge. Backboned by senior Connor Maloney's strong goaltending performance, the Lancers cruised ahead with goals early and often, ultimately coming within just 3:28 of a shutout. Junior Tyler Sifferlen (UMass-Lowell) and senior captain Mike Iovanna (UMass) hold up one of the most dynamic lines in the state, while sophomore defensive anchor Casey Fitzgerald (Boston College) rung the post in the second period, missing his first goal of the season. Sifferlen assisted on MC's second goal - by sophomore John McLean - with 11:45 left in the middle stanza, while Iovanna iced the victory with a long shot for a goal in the waning minute. The Lancers - and their future Hockey East trio - open the home schedule against Andover High School at Valley Forum II on Wednesday night.
Listen to post-game interviews with two future Hockey East faces: Malden Catholic captain Mike Iovanna and junior assistant captain Tyler Sifferlen.
Joshua Kummins is the Hockey East beat writer and a weekend editor for SB Nation Boston. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKummins.