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Gutterson Fieldhouse opened in 1963 and with it came the modern era of ice hockey at the University of Vermont. Since then, the building has been home to 55 years of Catamount hockey.
Originally built with a capacity of 3,335, Gutterson has long been considered one of the toughest places in college hockey for visiting teams to play. The rink was refurbished for the 1990-91 season with the ice surface being expanded to 200 ft. x 90 ft. and the capacity increased to the current 4,007.
In the summer of 2005, renovations to the glass, boards, sound system, scoreboard and lighting improved the facility without compromising the character of a great college hockey venue.
Noisy and usually filled to capacity, Gutterson tickets are always difficult to find as UVM men's hockey has been a top winter attraction in Vermont for decades. From November of 2004 until December of 2007 the Catamounts established a new school record by selling out 65 consecutive games. Dating back to November of 1987 the Catamounts have sold out 252 of their last 335 home games.
NHL Training Camps
From 1995-2004, Gutterson was the preseason training camp home for the New York Rangers. The NHL's all-time leading scorer, Wayne Gretzky, started his last two seasons with training camp at Gutterson. Superstars Mark Messier, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, and Adam Graves have also trained with the Rangers in Burlington. The Hartford Whalers also held their training camp at Gutterson in 1992 and 1993.
Hosting the Best of Men's Hockey
Vermont has likewise hosted three games against national teams at Gutterson. The West German Olympic team visited in 1980, while the Canadian National Team visited Burlington in 1985. In 1987 the United States Olympic team - featuring NHL stars Mike Richter and Brian Leetch - played an exhibition against UVM.
In March of 2008 the Catamounts hosted their first-ever Hockey East Quarterfinal series at Gutterson. UVM defeated Northeastern, winning two out of three in the best-of-three series, to advance to the Hockey East Championship at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Mass. for the first time in school history.
Gutterson has been the site of Vermont exhibition games against some of the top teams in the world. Twice teams from the Soviet Elite League visited the "Gut," with Moscow-Spatrak taking on the Catamounts in 1985 and the Yaroslavl Torpedo coming to town in 1991.
Martin St. Louis Night
The University of Vermont honored Martin St. Louis '97 with the retirement of his number '8' January 8, 2016 at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Laval, Québec native is the all-time leading scorer for the Catamounts with 267 points on 91 goals and 176 assists in 139 games from 1993 to 1997. St. Louis led the Catamounts to their first-ever NCAA Frozen Four berth in 1996 and another NCAA Tournament appearance in 1997. For three straight seasons, he was named an All-American and was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker award in those campaigns. St. Louis went on to register over 1,000 career points in the NHL, becoming the sixth undrafted player to achieve the feat. In 2004, St. Louis helped lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to their first Stanley Cup while winning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. On November 12, 2018, St. Louis became the first Catamount inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Hosting the Best of Women's Hockey
The UVM women's ice hockey team has also attracted some of the top talent from around the world. During the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 season, the Catamounts took on the Russian National Team in exhibition games. In 2001-2002, Vermont hosted the Russian Olympic Team as it tuned up for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Gutterson Fieldhouse hosted to the first-ever televised women's hockey game when the U.S. Olympic Team took on archrival Canada on December 17, 1997. The game was part of the Three Nations Cup and carried live by the cable network Lifetime. The contest was a preview of the 1998 Olympic Gold Medal game in Nagano, Japan.
In 2012, the IIHF Women's World Championship was hosted at Gutterson Fieldhouse along with Cairns Arena in South Burlington. Gutterson hosted Group A in the preliminary round, which consisted of the United States, Canada, Finland, and Russia. Teams who advanced through the preliminary round played in Gutterson Fieldhouse in pursuit of a medal. The gold medal game came down to an overtime thriller between the United States and Canada in front of a sold-out crowd. Caroline Ouellete netted the game-winning goal for Canada less than two minutes into the extra frame for Canada's 10th gold medal. The gold medal game had many notable names in women's hockey like Monique Lamoureux, Gigi Marvin, Hillary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin, Haley Wickenheiser, and Hockey Hall of Famer Jayna Hefford.Â
Pack the Gut
The UVM women's hockey team set the Ho
ckey East regular season attendance record February 3, 2017 at Gutterson Fieldhouse. The turnout was posted by Vermont on the annual Pack the Gut challenge which began in 2013. The Catamounts hosted 2,136 people in attendance for the most in women's Hockey East history, surpassing the mark of 2,028 set in the inaugural challenge.
Hosting the Best of Vermont High School Hockey
Gutterson Fieldhouse as also hosted the Vermont High School Hockey State Championships since 1976. BFA-St. Albans defeated North Country in the first Division I championship held at Gutterson and Winooski beat Montpelier in the Division II championship. In 2011, Gutterson hosted its first Girl's Hockey State Championship after being played at Norwich's Kretizberg Arena in years past. BFA-St. Albans won the first Division I championship, beating Spaulding in a 1-0 thriller, and U-32 defeated Harwood in the Division II championship. Â
Directions to Gutterson Fieldhouse
Address: 97 Spear Street, Burlington, VT 05405
From I-89: Take Exit 14W into Burlington. Stay in far-right lane. Just past Sheraton and stop light, bear right at East Avenue/Spear Street exit, in lane for Spear Street. Take immediate left around jug handle, go through traffic light, which will take you onto Spear Street. Drive approximately 1/4 mile to Patrick Gym entrance on your right.
Heading north from Route 7: Follow Route 7 North from Shelburne. Just past Denny's Restaurant and just before reaching Burlington, take 189 East. Travel approximately one mile to I-89 North. Continue using directions as above, from I-89 (Exit 14W is the second exit upon entering I-89 North.
Parking Information
-Â Campus Parking Map and Information on Campus Parking
Team Personnel at Patrick Gym/Gutterson Fieldhouse:Â Buses and vans transporting all team personnel may be met by the UVM Transportation and Parking officers working the event and instructed to park in the loading zone adjacent to the north entrance of Gutterson Fieldhouse after they have dropped the team at the most convenient location.
All vehicles parking in this area are instructed verbally and by signs not to leave engines idling while waiting for their team. Bigger coach buses needing to warm up and idle are instructed to pull out of the loading zone when doing so. This loading zone can hold only two buses. If there are more than two buses and the Gutterson lot is not completely filled with spectator vehicles, the buses may park across the parking spaces in the lower levels of Gutterson. If the lot is expected to reach or exceed capacity, buses will be sent to park in the vacant CATS bus spaces near the watertower off of East Avenue.
Spectator Parking for Athletics at Patrick Gym/Gutterson Fieldhouse:Â Fans will be instructed to park their vehicles in the Patrick Gymnasium/Gutterson Parking Garage until it is full. Once the garage is full, vehicles will be directed to the Agricultural/Engineering lot off of Main Street and East Avenue. Fans can take a shuttle or walk across the street to Patrick Gymnasium/Gutterson. Fans parked in the upper and middle levels of the Patrick Gymnasium/Gutterson Parking Garage wishing to exit to Spear Street, will be allowed to do so from the south end of the facility towards Moulton Winder Field. Fans exiting from the top and middle levels of the garage on the north end of the facility will only be allowed to exit to Main Street via University Heights. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
