60 Days. 60 Teams. 600 Words (or Less): Vermont

Vermont

2018-19 Record: 12-19-3 (5-16-3, 10th in Hockey East)
Head Coach: Kevin Sneddon, 17th Year
Top returning scorers: Max Kaufman (8G-13A) and Joey Cipollone (9G-7G)
Top returning goaltender: Stefanos Lekkas (Sr.)

How much of a bright spot in Vermont's dismal season was goaltender Stefanos Lekkas? The then-Catamounts junior was in a tier of his own. Nine of ten 2019 Mike Richter Award finalists (given to the top goalie in men's D1 hockey) were on winning teams who made the NCAA Tournament.

The tenth? Lekkas.

Unfortunately for Vermont and him, it came in a year where the Catamounts needed stellar goaltending to keep in games rather than steal them. No one nationally played more of their team's minutes in net than Lekkas, the only Vermont goalie to see the ice in 2018-19. No one gave the Catamounts a better chance to win each night. He ended the year with a .930 save percentage on Hockey East's 10th place team.

Vermont's offense, for a second consecutive season, ended among the nation's bottom-ten teams (2.12 goals per game). No player hit the double-digit mark in goals and the team only hit the three-goal mark 11 times.

What's New: Another bright spot for Vermont was success in non-conference play. The team had more wins in 10 non-conference games (7) than 24 Hockey East games, starting the season by defeating Michigan at Yost Arena. Its non-conference success was one reason the Catamounts ended up as high in the final Pairwise rankings as it did.

Vermont's 2019-20 non-conference, on paper, seems to be tougher. Where the Catamounts were able to take advantage of a three-game stretch at home against Alabama Huntsville, RPI and Sacred Heart, the team plays three different 2019 NCAA Tournament teams (Clarkson, Quinnipiac and Arizona State) all on the road. Only one non-conference opponent (St. Lawrence) finished below Vermont in the Pairwise.

Another Stalberg, a last name well known to Vermont hockey fans, is expected to be on campus. Whim Stalberg, cousin of former Catamounts Viktor and Sebastian, verbally committed to Vermont in April.

While Lekkas returns, defenseman Jake Massie departed after his junior season by signing with the Florida Panthers.

Closing Thoughts: Honestly, the upcoming season should be one to tell Vermont's future.

A big reason has to do with head coach Kevin Sneddon entering 2019-20 in the final season of a three-year contract. Not often does a school allows a bench boss to coach out their contract, but it makes sense with Vermont and Sneddon. No one is getting an extension after a combined 22 wins in two seasons. He's been with Catamounts long enough and had success - taking UVM to the 2009 Frozen Four - to be given a last chance to right the ship.

It's fair to say Vermont has gone adrift in the five seasons without an NCAA appearance. Several Hockey East schools have surpassed the Catamounts. Several elite forwards who committed to Vermont young have not developed into elite college hockey forwards. That development, going hand-in-hand with Lekkas' season, would be a different story.

Getting back Lekkas is massive. If there is another bright spot, it's that a team who had 18 underclassmen is another year older. There will need to be an improvement because the brightness of a Frozen Four appearance ten years ago can, as tomorrow's preview knows all too well, eventually dim out of sight.

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