WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team, which completed its nonconference schedule with a 1-0 loss at Gustavus in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday, returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Friday, playing host to Bethel in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-1-1 MIAC / 7-5-1 Overall)
Bethel Royals (3-3 MIAC, 3-8 Overall)
Last Action: The Cardinals held high-powered Gustavus to just one goal, but one goal proved to be enough, as GAC handed SMU a
1-0 setback in a nonconference contest in St. Peter, Minn., Saturday. Bethel, meanwhile, has been off since Jan. 8, when the Royals also suffered a 1-0 loss in their nonconference finale, falling to UW-Eau Claire
1-0 in Eau Claire, Wis.
Last Meeting — January 30-31, 2009: The Royals and Cardinals split their two meetings a year ago, with Bethel picking up a
2-1 victory in the opener in Blaine, Minn., while
Madeline Lenz (White Bear Lake, Minn.) stopped all 26 shots in lifting SMU to a
4-0 victory in the rematch in Winona, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Last Saturday's 1-0 loss to Gustavus snapped the Cardinals four-game winning streak. … Despite the loss to GAC, SMU opens its weekend series vs. Bethel having gone 7-2-1 in its last 10 games. … Four of SMU's five losses have been decided by one goal. …
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) finished with 38 saves vs. the Gusties last Saturday. … Collier's 38 saves were one shy of her career-best 39-save effort vs. Lake Forest in her collegiate debut on Nov. 1, 2009 … Collier, who has notched three shutouts this season, enters tonight's contest against Bethel boasting a 1.54 goals-against-average and a .940 save percentage. …
Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) netted her first collegiate goal vs. Marian on Jan. 10. …
Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) not only recorded her first career collegiate hat trick in SMU's 6-0 win over Marian on Jan. 9 — she had recorded three two-goal games during her time at SMU — but she also tied the school record for goals in a game with her five goals. … With her five goals, Olson moved into the team lead in goals (9) and points (11). …
Stevie Fiek (Rochester, Minn.) finished with three assists vs. Marian on Jan. 8 and enters today's contest vs. Bethel with a team-best seven assists. …
Erin Johnson-Buscemi (Medina, Minn.) made her first start of the season on Jan. 10 vs. Marian, stopping 11 of the 13 shots she faced. … SMU's six goals vs. Marian on Jan. 9 equaled its season high and are the most in a game since the Cardinals beat Hamline 8-0 on Feb. 25, 2004. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 14-5 in the first period. … The Cardinals have scored first in 11 of their 13 games.
Bethel Royal Notes: Bethel's 1-0 loss to UW-Eau Claire snapped the Royals' two-game winning streak. … The Royals last seven games have all been decided by one goal. Bethel is 3-4-0 in those seven games. … Bethel has scored just six goals in its three wins — combined. The Royals netted three of those six in a 3-2 win over Concordia on Dec. 4, 2009, then scored three in a sweep of Saint Benedict on Dec. 11-12 — winning 2-1 and 1-0. … On the flip side, Bethel has surrendered 26 goals in its eight losses — including a season-high seven goals in a 7-0 loss to Gustavus on Nov. 20. … Kassy Sullivan and Paige Lemieux share the team lead in goals (2), while Sullivan and Sarah Kartak are the team-leaders in assists with three each. … Sullivan's five points are also a team best. … Nicole Jones and Jess Newstrom have shared the team's goaltending duties, combining for a 2.91 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage. … Bethel has scored half of its 12 goals in the first period, while being outscored 10-3 in the second period and 8-3 in the third.
