The University of Vermont ice hockey team has something to prove this year and they've responded with a strong start. After making the jump from the ECACHL, Vermont is showing that not only can they compete in Hockey East, but that they are legitimate national contenders.

This is Vermont's first year in Hockey East, which features a tougher schedule and frequent match-ups with such college powerhouses as Boston College, Maine, New Hampshire and Boston University.

Following last Friday night's 3-0 victory over Merrimack College, Vermont is now 9-2-0 and was ranked ninth in last week's USA Today/American Hockey Poll. Their ranking could rise even higher in the next poll, since Cornell, New Hampshire and North Dakota, the three teams ranked immediately ahead of tehm, all lost to unranked opponents over the weekend.

The Vermont program already has a lot of history to it since they first took the ice in 1963-64. They started playing in NCAA Division I in the 1974-75 season and became nationally known following their success from the mid-‘80s and into the late ‘90s.

It was during that time they made three NCAA tournament appearances, including a third-place finish in 1995-96. They have also produced such quality NHL players as John Leclair, Martin St. Louis, Aaron Miller and Eric Perrin.

The program sputtered, however, bottoming out during the 1999-2000 season, when the team went 5-9-3 before suspending the remainder of the schedule due to a messy hazing investigation.

However, Vermont is now committed to making themselves an elite program. Third-year coach Kevin Sneddon led the team to a 21-14-4 record last year and has the team playing great two-way hockey again this year. This team will not be content just to be competitive in Hockey East.

Strong defense appeared to be the key for the Catamounts entering this season. The team, which lost only one defenseman from last year, returns its top two defenseman, Jamie Sifers and Kenny MacCaulay, and has a few good recruits led by Kyle Kuk.

In addition, goaltender Joe Fallon turned in a spectacular freshman season last year, earning ECACHL Rookie of the Year honors with his 1.96 GAA and .921 SV%.

While the defense has lived up to its billing, the offense has shown some firepower and has given the team the balance that allows them to compete with anyone. Their 3.64 goals per game is 12th in the country.

Replacing the graduated Scott Mifsud's ECACHL-leading 48 points figured to be a major concern for the Catamounts, but the offense has stepped up across the board. Brady Leisenring, who had a monster season two years ago(15-21-36), but played in only six games last year due to injury, has returned as a medical redshirt and leads the Catamounts with 7 goals and 11 assists in the first 11 games. Sophomore Torrey Mitchell, senior Jeff Corey and freshman Peter Lenes also have been big contributors.

Vermont has shown a lot of promise early, revealing an impressive depth at both ends of the rink. Their special teams have been excellent, and should continue to be a big factor in their success throughout the season.

However, Vermont still has a lot of work to do if they want to be competing for a Hockey East title and an NCAA tournament bid at the end of the season.

The team opened the season with some of their easier non-conference games, and their league record of 3-2 in Hockey East is not quite as impressive as their overall record. Their victory over a strong Providence team was important, but they have lost in their two biggest tests, Boston University and Boston College.

The schedule gets a lot tougher for the rest of the season, with a lot more battles with the perennial Hockey East powers and a couple of tough non-conference opponents.

If Vermont hopes to continue its success, they are going to have to find a way to continue to score goals as they face tougher opponents. Against Merrimack last Friday, they controlled the play for nearly the entire game, but were only able to produce quality scoring chances on the power play, which is how they scored the first two goals of the game.

In addition, they are going to need more consistent play from Fallon in net. His
1.81 GAA is excellent, but the team defense has played an important role by limiting the number of chances. The team will depend on him more as the schedule gets tougher, and he will need to do better than his .905 SV%.

Joining the Hockey East was a major step forward for the Vermont hockey program. Few people doubted that the program could jump in and be competitive, but Vermont has done more than that, building on last season's success, and reaching ninth in the polls. And, they face another Hockey East opponent Tuesday night, when they host Massachusetts.

Vermont's recent success and their new membership in Hockey East should help the team's recruiting in the future. With the team playing this well, and positioned to get stronger, it may not be long before the Catamounts rises to the status of the Hockey East