vs.
Saint Mary's Cardinals   5-9-2 MIAC / 6-13-2 Overall		Saint Benedict Blazers   5-7-4 MIAC / 7-7-4 Overall

Listen Live / Live In-Game Statistics / GameDay Online / Media Notebook

Last Action: The Cardinals picked up a key conference point, as Alex Braun Darwin, Minn.) scored the game-tying goal midway through the third period to rally SMU to a 2-2 tie vs. Augsburg Saturday in Minneapolis, Minn. The Auggies scored three times in the second period en route to a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals Friday at the SMU Ice Arena. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, grabbed hold of sole possession of fifth place in the conference standings, picking up three of a possible four points with a 2-2 tie and a 6-1 win over Hamline last weekend in St. Paul, Minn.

A Year Ago: The Cardinals and Blazers split their two-game conference series on Nov. 16-17 in St. Joseph, Minn. The Cardinals raced out to a 3-0 lead, then held off the Blazers 4-3 in the first game. Despite holding a 41-21 advantage in shots on goal, the Cardinals came up empty each and every time, as the Blazers got a 41-save effort from goalie Amanda Plumm in handing SMU a 1-0 setback.

Playoff Picture: With two conference games, the Cardinals are tied for seventh place with St. Olaf, one point behind St. Catherine and two points back of Saint Benedict in the chase for the fifth and final MIAC playoff berth. The Cardinals (5-9-2 MIAC) must earn at least three points vs. Saint Benedict (5-7-4) this weekend, while also having St. Catherine (6-9-1) lose at least one of its last two vs. Concordia. If SMU sweeps the Blazers, they will finish with16 points, one ahead of CSB. An SMU win and a tie would leave the two teams tied, and the Cardinals would win the head-to-head tiebreaker. If SMU and St. Olaf both sweep their two games this weekend — and St. Catherine loses once — the Cardinals and Oles would be tied, with SMU again winning the head-to-head tiebreaker, having beaten (3-1) and tied (3-3) St. Olaf earlier this year.

Cardinal Notes: With their 2-2 tie vs. Augsburg Saturday, SMU moved to 3-5-2 in its last 10 games. … The Cardinals have finished the season with three ties in each of the first three seasons under coach Terry Mannor. SMU currently has two ties this season. …  SMU is gunning for its third MIAC playoff appearance in Mannor's four seasons. … Jamie Henneman (Countryside, Ill.) scored once in both games vs. Augsburg last weekend and has not had at least one goal in three straight games. … Alex Braun (Darwin, Minn.) netted the game-tying goal vs. Augsburg Saturday. Katie Cachey (Orland Park, Ill.), meanwhile, netted her team-leading seventh goal of the season to account for SMU's other goal vs. the Auggies on Friday. … Cachey also leads the team in points with 11, one point ahead of Henneman. … Along with her four goals, Braun also leads the team with five assists. … Madeline Lenz (White Bear Lake, Minn.), who stopped all 26 shots she faced in recording her first collegiate shutout on Jan. 31 vs. Bethel, stopped 49 shots vs. the Auggies last weekend. … SMU's 4-0 win vs. Bethel on Jan. 30 was the Cardinals' first shutout victory of the season and first since Brittany Lemke stopped 26 shots in blanking Hamline 2-0 on Jan. 18, 2008. … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. Augsburg Saturday was the Cardinals' fifth overtime game of the season — and just the second one to end in a tie. … SMU has been held to two goals or less in 12 of its 13 losses. … SMU's six game-winning goals — and its two game-tying goals — have come from eight different players. … The Cardinals have scored 14 power play goals this season. SMU scored just nine power play goals all season last year.
 
Blazer Notes: Saturday's 6-1 win over Hamline snapped the Blazers' streak of three straight ties — 3-3 and 1-1 vs. Concordia and 2-2 vs. Hamline. … Friday's 2-2 tie vs. Hamline last Friday was the Blazers' fourth tie, and sixth overtime game of the season. … Ten of Saint Benedict's 18 games have been decided by one goal or less. … CSB's six goals in Saturday's 6-1 win vs. Hamline were a season high. Six different players accounted for the Blazers' six goals. … Amie Ernst leads the Blazers in goals (8) and points (13). She is one of four CSB players with at least 10 points. … Jennifer Yelle boasts a team-best 10 assists. … Abbie Heiminen has been the workhorse in goal for the Blazers, appearing in 14 of the team's 18 games, posting a 2.04 goals-against-average and a .927 save percentage. … Saint Benedict is 6-1-2 when scoring the game's first goal, but just 1-6-2 when its opponent scores first.