Glue-on rhinestones from Michael’s and iron-on Catamount patches from the UVM Bookstore make the Ice Cats’ green dresses glimmer as they skate across the stark white Gutterson Fieldhouse rink.
Even on a tight budget, the team’s co-captains ensure the Ice Cats have everything they need.
The Ice Cats perform figure skating routines at about 20 regular season men’s and women’s hockey games a year, often once or twice a week and occasionally at two games in a day.
Three co-captains, including junior Izzy DeGroot and senior Catherine Cone, aren’t just performers; they’re managers and coaches, too. They schedule practices, order uniforms, pick and edit performance music, choreograph routines and teach them to skaters.
“It’s all us,” said DeGroot.
DeGroot and Cone have been skating since they were 6 years old and both joined the team as first-years.
The Ice Cats practice once a week at Gutterson from 6-7 a.m., often before the mid-winter sun rises during hockey season. With limited time on the rink, the team also holds off-ice practices and 2-hour warmups before each game.
Before the first puck drop, the group performs their choreography to songs like “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” by Fergie and “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears. When the Catamounts rush out of the locker room, the Ice Cats cheer them on from the boards.
Dance, Cheer, Pep Band and the Ice Cats each have a role to play in the highly-orchestrated sports events that draw season ticket holders and first time visitors to campus annually.
The Ice Cats help to preserve the pristine Gutterson rink, working with the zambonis to make sure players stay safe.
“Every period, we do ice cleanings in between, so we’ll have a couple skaters go out and, with a shovel, scrape the snow off the ice,” Cone said.
When the number of students at tryouts doubled in 2023, Ice Cats co-captains embraced the interest by expanding the team, rather than turning more skaters away.
“It’s gotten a little more competitive but I think we’re pretty flexible,” DeGroot said. “We’re always willing to adapt.”
The team now has 16 skaters, the majority of whom are also members of the Freestyle Skating team, Synchronized Skating team or both. While some members skated competitively throughout high school, others returned from time off or had never skated with a group before joining the Ice Cats.
“We all come from very different skating backgrounds,” DeGroot said. “It’s fun to have all those people in the same place finding joy in skating.”
In 2023, when interest in the Ice Cats climbed, attendance at Vermont hockey games was also on an upward trend.
Men’s games drew an average of 2,599 fans and women’s games 341 fans in the 2021-2022 season. In the next two years, crowds surged to 2,799 at men’s games and women’s games saw 96% growth in attendance, rising to 670 fans on average, according to U.S. College Hockey Online.
Peering through the glass to the green and gold bleachers, DeGroot and Cone notice Gutterson regulars singing and dancing along with them.
“If we do a routine enough times, sometimes there’ll be people in the crowd who know the choreo,” Cone said.
Outside of Gutterson and their sparkling uniforms, people have come to recognize the team.
“I’ll tell people I’m on Ice Cats and they’re like ‘oh my gosh, I love the Ice Cats,’” DeGroot said.
Each May, the Spirit Teams are honored for their hard work at the Rally Awards, a celebration of graduating players and award ceremony for community service, leadership and athletic excellence among standout student-athletes.
“It’s had a long history but it’s just never been as big as it is now,” DeGroot said.
