AMHERST - In the midst of three straight road games against ranked teams, University of Massachusetts hockey coach Don "Toot" Cahoon recognizes the importance of tonight's game at 7 at Hockey East rival Vermont.

"They're all tough games, but it's a real tough game in their building," Cahoon said.

"It's a pivotal game for where we are in the standings," he added. "We can either get involved with the top teams in Hockey East or put ourselves in the middle of the pack. We'd rather get involved with the top teams."

The Minutemen (8-2, 4-2 Hockey East) are in fourth place in the conference with eight points, but are just two points behind New Hampshire (4-2-2) and Boston College (4-3-2), which are tied for first with 10 points apiece.

If the Catamounts (4-4-1, 3-3-1 Hockey East) win tonight, they would pass the Minutemen in the conference standings.

Vermont has been off for eight days after splitting at Boston College Nov. 14 and 15, losing the first game 7-1 and winning the next night 3-2.

Senior forward Brayden Irwin leads the Catamounts with 10 points (four goals, six assists), which ties him for 19th in Hockey East.

Sophomore Rob Madore has seen the bulk of the goaltending, but senior Mike Spillane has better numbers. Madore is 2-4-1 with a 3.73 goals against average and a .879 save percentage.

Spillane is 2-0-0 with a 2.14 goals against and a .931 save percentage.

"They're a hard team to play against because of their style of play," Cahoon said. "They're enormous on defense. They really pack it in around the goal.

"They play a very conservative posture and don't make a lot of mistakes," he added. "If you make a mistake, they'll capitalize on it. That took them all they way to the national championships last year. It'll be a real challenge to play through that."

POLL CLIMBING - The Minutemen continued to climb up the U.S. College Hockey Online top 20 poll, landing at No. 10 this week after Thursday's 4-3 overtime win at No. 9 Yale. UMass is No. 9 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine top 15.

Vermont is No. 18 in the USCHO.com poll and unranked in the other.

UMass-Lowell is No. 3 in both polls, the top-ranked Hockey East team.

Boston College is No. 16 in the USCHO.com and No. 15 in USA Today.

MINUTEMEN SIGN FIVE - The Minutemen announced the signing of three forwards, a defenseman and a goaltender to join three players who already had signed last year but deferred enrollment.

Kevin Boyle will replace graduating goalie Dan Meyers on the UMass roster and will have a chance to compete for the No. 1 job when current junior netminder Paul Dainton graduates.

Joel Hanley, a 6-foot, 185-pound defenseman from Keswick, Ontario, projects as an offensive defenseman. He was the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League rookie of the year last season.

John Parker, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward from Green Brook, N.J., competed for the USA World Junior Challenge Team and is a member of the Indiana Ice of USHL.

Mike Pereira, a 5-foot-10 forward from West Haven, Conn., was listed as a player to watch by the NHL's Central Scouting Services. Currently a senior at South Kent Prep, he had 26 goals and 20 assists last year as a junior.

Conor Sheary is also a New England prep school player at Cushing Academy. He had 16 goals and 27 assists last year.

"Defensively, Boyle is a highly rated young goalie, while Hanley is a very clever power-play type defenseman. Offensively, Pereira is one of the top-rated prep players in New England and is a goal scorer," Cahoon said in a prepared statement. "Sheary is a very dynamic forward, while Parker is one of the most up-and-coming young players in the USHL."

The group joins defenseman Colin Shea and forwards Peter DeAngelo and Eric Filiou, who already had signed.

CHART CLIMBING - UMass junior forward James Marcou enters the game with 95 career points which ties him for No. 10 on the Minuteman career list, four behind No. 9 Mike Merchant.

Marcou is on pace to becomes the program's all-time leader in assists. His 68 are already No. 4 in UMass history, seven behind Warren Norris. Rob Bonneau is the all-time leader with 94.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.