WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team kicks off its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule Friday evening, playing host to Concordia in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 MIAC / 1-3-0 Overall) vs.
Concordia Cobbers (0-0-0 MIAC / 1-3-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals scored three second-period goals and never let St. Olaf get back into the game, dealing the Oles a 3-1 nonconference setback at the SMU Ice Arena last Saturday. Concordia, meanwhile, managed just one goal in its two nonconference home games last weekend, falling to St. Scholastica 4-1 on Friday and 2-0 to UW-Superior on Saturday

A Year Ago:
November 13, 2009: The Cardinals surrendered three goals in the third period — including two powerplay goals and one short-handed tally — as Concordia handed SMU a 6-3 setback in the teams' MIAC opener at the Moorhead Sports Center.

November 14, 2010: The Cardinals scored the game's first three goals — by Eric Tenvoorde, Vincent Unklesbay (Maplewood, Minn.) and Chase Marshall (Maple Grove, Minn.) — and never looked back in beating the Concordia 3-1 for their first win of the season.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals put an end to a pair of lengthy streaks with Saturday's 3-1 win over St. Olaf. The win snapped a 19-game winless streak (0-18-1) and was SMU's first victory since beating Concordia on Nov. 14, 2010, a span of 22 games. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.), Danny Wood (Wilmington, Ohio) and Ben Kitzmiller (Lambertville, Mich.) accounted for SMU's three goals vs. the Oles. It was the first collegiate goal for Wood. … Wentland and Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska) share the team lead in goals with two each, while Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) boasts a team-leading three assists. … Five players are tied for the team lead in points with three. … SMU's 11 goals this season have come from nine different players — including five from freshmen. … Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) stopped 33 shots vs. the Oles, lowering his goals-against-average to 4.50 and improving his save percentage to .847. Fellow goalie Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) boasts a team-leading 3.02 GAA and a .905 save percentage. … SMU has scored six of its 11 goals in the second period. … Two of SMU's three losses have been by one goal — 2-1 vs. eighth-ranked Gustavus and 4-3 vs. UW-Stout. … SMU netted its first shorthanded goal of the season vs. UW-Stout last Thursday. … Tonight's game vs. Concordia is the third of five straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not go back on the road until Nov. 20, when they travel to Hamline for the first of six consecutive road games | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Concordia Cobbers News and Notes:
After opening the season with a 6-4 nonconference win over Bethel at the MIAC Showcase, the Cobbers have dropped three straight. … Jared Collen and Aaron Wheeler share the team lead with two goals each. The two are also the team's assist leaders (2), while Collen's three points are tops among the Cobbers. … Concordia's nine goals have come from seven different players, while 15 different Cobbers have recorded at least one point. … The Cobbers return their top seven scorers from a year ago, including leading scorer Nick Thielen, who led the squad in both goals (10) and points (23). … Concordia boasted seven players with 10 or more points last season —?and all seven are back for the 2010-2011 campaign. … The Cobbers have started three different goalies through four games — Glen Gayet (1.00 GAA, .968 save percentage), Chris Neamonitis (3.52 GAA, .875 save percentage) and Kelly Andrew (4.00 GAA, .892 save percentage). … The Cobbers have been outscored 6-3 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … All five of the Cobbers' ties last season came in MIAC play —?3-3 and 1-1 vs. St. Olaf, 4-4 vs. St. Thomas, 1-1 vs. Saint John's and 2-2 vs. Hamline. … Fourteen of Concordia's 25 games last season were decided by two goals or less. … All five of the Cobbers' wins last season came on their home ice, where Concordia went 5-5-1 | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics