BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team, coming off a 2-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback vs. Bethel Friday evening at the SMU Ice Arena, hits the road Saturday, traveling to Bethel for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Royals in the second game of the two-game conference series.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2-1 MIAC / 7-6-1 Overall)
Bethel Royals (4-3 MIAC, 4-8 Overall)
Last Night: Bethel scored single goals in both the first and second periods in handing the Cardinals a
2-1 conference setback at the SMU Ice Arena Friday evening.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) scored SMU's lone goal against the Royals Friday evening. The goal was her team-leading 10th of the season. … SMU's 2-1 loss to Bethel Friday was the Cardinals' third straight one-goal decision. The Cardinals have now been involved in nine one-goal games this season — going 3-5-1. … SMU has now lost two straight for the first time since opening the season with three straight setbacks. … Last Saturday's 1-0 loss to Gustavus snapped the Cardinals four-game winning streak. … Despite Friday's loss to Bethel, the Cardinals have now gone 7-3-1 in their last 11 games. …
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) finished with 19 saves vs. Bethel Friday. … Collier had 38 saves vs. the Gusties last Saturday. The 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 1.58 goals-against-average and a .938 save percentage. … Olson, who 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 vs. Marian and her one vs. Bethel on Friday, Olson not only leads the team in goals (10), but also in points (12). …
Stevie Fiek (Rochester, Minn.) 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 in the 4-3 SMU win. … 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 14-6 in the first period. … The Cardinals have scored first in 11 of their 14 games.
Bethel Royal Notes: Bethel's 2-1 win over Saint Mary's was its third in the Royals' last four games. … The Royals last eight games have all been decided by one goal. Bethel is 4-4-0 in those seven games. … Bethel has scored just eight goals in its four 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 — before Friday's 2-1 victory over SMU. … 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. … Sarah Kartak and Molly Eagles scored Bethel's two goals Friday. It was Kartak's second of the season, while Eagles netted her first. … Kartak, Kassy Sullivan and Paige Lemieux share the team lead in goals (2), while Sullivan and Kartak are the team-leaders in assists with three each. … Sullivan and Kartak also share the team lead in points with five points. … Nicole Jones and Jess Newstrom have shared the team's goaltending duties, combining for a 2.50 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage. … Bethel has scored seven of its 13 goals in the first period, while being outscored 11-4 in the second period and 8-3 in the third.
