| C ATA M O U N T S P O R T S
Vermont Hockey Showcased on the World Stage Catamounts from near and far skate on to the Stanley Cup Final and Women’s World Championships
Story by Nich Hall In game five of the Stanley Cup Final, Ross Colton ’18 of the Tampa Bay Lightning became the first in the history of Vermont’s men’s hockey to score the winning goal and clinch the cup.
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UVM MAGAZINE
In the untraditional times of COVID-19, Vermont’s hockey program found a silver lining in the summer of 2021, with coaching staffs watching, current and former Catamounts took to the world’s stage to face off in premier sporting events. For men’s hockey, the start of their summer success story begins back on one special day in February, when alumnus Dominique Ducharme ’95 was named Interim Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens—and later that night, alumnus Ross Colton ’18 became the 18th player in Vermont’s program history to play with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He scored a goal less than seven minutes into his first game. A sign of good things to come. And it doesn’t get much better or bigger than the Stanley Cup Final for hockey players. The 2021 championship between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning brought the two alumni together around the ice. Under Ducharme’s tutelage, the Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Final by defeating Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vegas as the underdog in each series. With Colton on the ice, the Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to
the championship series with five points in the playoffs. The battle of Catamount alumni was settled in game five of the best-of-seven series by Colton scoring the Stanley Cup clinching goal— something no rookie had done since 1927 in the championship final. “While I have only spent brief time with each of these two gentlemen, I can tell you that their own pride in the green and gold is apparent,” said men’s hockey head coach Todd Woodcroft. “Of course, I will use their names when recruiting alongside all the other accomplished players that have worn our jersey.” “For a player, the National Hockey League is the ultimate dream, it is the one thing that every young player around the world aspires to,” continued Woodcroft. “And then for Ross to score the game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Final? That is what every young girl and boy hockey player has desired since they first started skating.” The women’s hockey program kept the momentum going in August when—at the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s World Championships in Alberta, Canada—four current GETTY IMAGES, COURTESY NHL
