{"id":90939,"date":"2019-02-07T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T12:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=90939"},"modified":"2020-08-24T12:57:12","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T17:57:12","slug":"vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to ‘focus on what we can do’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Stefanos<\/a>
Stefanos Lekkas has started all 26 games this season for Vermont, going 11-13-2 with a 2.36 GAA and a .929 save percentage (photo: Vermont Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon.<\/p>\n

Since suffering four straight losses, two each against Massachusetts and UMass Lowell, Sneddon and his Catamounts have been in playoff mode, trying to play catchup.<\/p>\n

With Hockey East\u2019s new playoff format, only the top eight of 11 teams make the postseason. And after those four losses in mid-January, it seemed Vermont was nowhere near the eighth and final playoff spot.<\/p>\n

That all changed in recent weeks after Vermont swept Merrimack and then, against probable odds, went on the road and took three of four points from nationally-ranked Providence.<\/p>\n

Suddenly just five points out of eighth, the Catamounts are firmly planted in a four-week make-it-or-break-it hunt for a postseason bid.<\/p>\n

Still, getting to that point may take baby steps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about getting points [in the standings],\u201d said Sneddon. \u201cWhat do we have to do to get points? We don\u2019t talk about moving up [in the standings]. Some of it is in our control, some is not. We just focus on what we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The good news is that the last two weekends have proven that things are beginning to come together. The offense, which at times this year has struggled to score goals, is beginning to click. Some of that is simply having key personnel back in the lineup after battling injuries.<\/p>\n

Throughout this season, all of Vermont\u2019s top four scorers \u2013 Max Kaufman, Liam Coughlin, Alex Esposito and Derek Lodermeier \u2013 all have missed some time with injuries. And though there are still plenty of bumps and bruises and man games lost, particularly on the back end, having healthy forwards to help the Catamounts offense at this critical junction in the season.<\/p>\n

The other key component is the player who likely is the team MVP, even with a month left, and that\u2019s Stefanos Lekkas. The junior netminder, who this week was named a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award, the oldest nationally-recognized college hockey award given to the top American player in New England, tends to be the best player on the ice night in and night out.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s probably been our most improved player, which is pretty scary seeing that he was pretty darn good as a freshman and sophomore,\u201d said Sneddon of Lekkas. \u201cLooking at his career, his freshman year was outstanding in the first half and he kind of fatigued in the second half. That\u2019s not unusual for a freshman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe worked that summer to understand what he has to do to go coast-to-coast and he was much more consistent last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, his whole approach has changed a little bit. He\u2019s much more calm in the net. He doesn\u2019t get rattled. Now, he\u2019s just mellowed in the net and it\u2019s helped him focus.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s clearly been our MVP, hands down.\u201d<\/p>\n

This weekend presents one of the best opportunities for the Catamounts as they host New Hampshire. The Wildcats are currently in seventh place, just seven points ahead of Vermont. Maine is in eighth place five points ahead.<\/p>\n

A four-point weekend against the Wildcats at home this week could go a long way for the Catamounts, particularly given that they still have a game-in-hand on UNH. But as Sneddon made clear, all of that is too much thinking for both him and his players right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to sound like a coach, but we\u2019re just worried about the first period against UNH on Friday night, the chance to win that first period and what we need to do to be successful against them,\u201d said Sneddon. \u201cIf we try to bite of more than we can chew right now, we\u2019re not focused.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon (photo: Vermont Athletics).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":90940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[800],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to 'focus on what we can do' - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon (photo: Vermont Athletics).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90939\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to 'focus on what we can do' - College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon (photo: Vermont Athletics).\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90939\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"College Hockey | USCHO.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialUSCHO\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-07T12:00:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-08-24T17:57:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"658\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"439\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Connelly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@USCHO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Connelly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/\",\"name\":\"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to 'focus on what we can do' - College Hockey | USCHO.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-07T12:00:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-08-24T17:57:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54\"},\"description\":\"The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon (photo: Vermont Athletics).\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg\",\"width\":658,\"height\":439,\"caption\":\"(Tim Brule)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to ‘focus on what we can do’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/\",\"name\":\"College Hockey | USCHO.com\",\"description\":\"Men's and Women's D-I and D-III College Hockey News, Features, Scores, Statistics, Fan Forum, Blogs\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54\",\"name\":\"Jim Connelly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4c7d31050418d5e7a74507617d667afd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Connelly\"},\"description\":\"Senior Writer Jim Connelly is a senior writer and has been with USCHO.com since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he writes \\\"Tuesday Morning Quarterback.\\\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/author\/jimbo15\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to 'focus on what we can do' - College Hockey | USCHO.com","description":"The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon (photo: Vermont Athletics).","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90939","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to 'focus on what we can do' - College Hockey | USCHO.com","og_description":"The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon (photo: Vermont Athletics).","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90939","og_site_name":"College Hockey | USCHO.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OfficialUSCHO\/","article_published_time":"2019-02-07T12:00:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-08-24T17:57:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":658,"height":439,"url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim Connelly","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@USCHO","twitter_site":"@USCHO","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim Connelly","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/","name":"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to 'focus on what we can do' - College Hockey | USCHO.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-07T12:00:30+00:00","dateModified":"2020-08-24T17:57:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54"},"description":"The Hockey East playoffs won\u2019t start for about another month, but don\u2019t tell that to Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon (photo: Vermont Athletics).","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IX8A6847.jpg","width":658,"height":439,"caption":"(Tim Brule)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/02\/07\/vermont-in-hunt-for-hockey-east-postseason-catamounts-just-looking-to-focus-on-what-we-can-do\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vermont in hunt for Hockey East postseason, Catamounts just looking to ‘focus on what we can do’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/","name":"College Hockey | USCHO.com","description":"Men's and Women's D-I and D-III College Hockey News, Features, Scores, Statistics, Fan Forum, Blogs","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78e7586ae2a624c3924d9ed406596f54","name":"Jim Connelly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4c7d31050418d5e7a74507617d667afd","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f521b8fb97ad8f139da73d90c706d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jim Connelly"},"description":"Senior Writer Jim Connelly is a senior writer and has been with USCHO.com since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he writes \"Tuesday Morning Quarterback.\"","url":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/author\/jimbo15\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90939"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110101,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90939\/revisions\/110101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90939"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=90939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}