Fighting to the Finish

An Inside Perspective on a Tough Stretch for UVM


The UVM On Campus blog is one of the best college sports blogs that I have stumbled across, thanks to the fact that real, actual reporters from the Burlington Free Press are the ones writing for it.  The blog is well-written, and informative, and on the eve of the BU-UVM series, they have a great post explaining the rough path UVM has traveled to this point in 2009-10.

Ted Ryan had this to say as part of his post on the Catamounts mounting adversity:

"The last couple of weeks have been tumultuous for the University of Vermont hockey team.  Included in the emotional rollercoaster were:

-The benching and eventual dismissal of No. 2 scorer Justin Milo;

- A weekend series with Merrimack in which UVM lost third-period leads in the final five minutes (tie) and final two minutes (loss) of regulation;

- The one-game suspension of freshman forward Chris McCarthy for a match penalty vs. Merrimack;

- The addition of Jay Anctil to an injury list that included one of UVM’s top scorers, Wahsontiio Stacey, and No. 2 goaltender, Mike Spillane;

- The shifting of defenseman Josh Burrows to forward to bolster the depleted front ranks;

- A valiant but one-point weekend at New Hampshire;

- Finally, a plunge into ninth place in the Hockey East standings, one position out of a playoff berth.

Despite all this, plus five overtime games in seven games and a 1-3-4 record over the last eight games, the Catamounts say they are optimistic and feeling good going into this weekend’s series against Boston University at Gutterson Fieldhouse.....

Head Coach Kevin Sneddon said...'I can just say right now that right now the energy on the team is very positive. Our guys understand that injuries are part of the game. Everybody’s gone through it in the league … That’s part of the cards that you’re dealt,'"

After looking at all of the crap that UVM has played with in the New Year, it makes a bit more sense how the team that knocked off 3 of the top 10 teams in the nation could be on the verge of missing their own conference tournament.

But can the Catamounts really still be feeling positive right now?  At what point do you just throw in the towel because the deck is clearly stacked against you?

But the attitude from everyone in the UVM camp does seem to be a "nut up or shut up" mentality, and for the Catamounts, now certainly would be a good time to nut up.  The Terriers should plan to do the same if they want to come home from this weekend with some points. 

Read the entire post by Ted Ryan at UVM's On Campus Blog.