ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team, coming off a come-from-behind 4-3 conference win over Saint Benedict on Friday, is back in action against the Blazers again Saturday, as the two teams square off in the second game of their two-game MIAC series at 2 p.m.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-5-1 MIAC / 10-9-1 Overall)
Saint Benedict Blazers (0-9-4 MIAC / 2-14-4 Overall)
Last Action: The Cardinals erupted for four goals in the third period, erasing a 3-0 Saint Benedict lead, as SMU rallied for a crucial
4-3 victory over the Blazers Friday evening.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: SMU's 4-3 win over Saint Benedict snapped a streak of three straight losses on Friday nights. … SMU has now won two straight — outscoring its opponents 9-4 in the process. …
Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) scored her team-leading 11th and 12th goals of the season vs. the Blazers Friday. … Olson has now scored two or more goals three times this season — including a career-best five-goal outburst against Marian on Jan. 9. … Olson also added an assist on
Katie Cachey's (Orland Park, Ill.) third-period game-winner Friday, to push her point total to a team-best 18. … Olson's 12 goals are the most scored by a Cardinal since the 2006-07 season, when Melissa Mondo led the team with 15 goals. …
Stevie Fiek (Rochester, Minn.) picked up a pair of assists vs. CSB Friday, giving her a team-leading 12 helpers on the season. … Fiek's 12 assists are the most in a season since Laura Mueller led the team with 13 during the 2006-07 season. … SMU boasts four players with 10 or more points — Fiek (18), Olson (18),
Katie Cachey (Orland Park, Ill.) (15) and Stenseth (10). …
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.), who has stopped 36 or more shots three times in her collegiate career — including a career-best 39 saves vs. Lake Forest on Nov. 1 — finished with 22 saves vs. CSB Friday. … Collier enters today's game with a team-leading 1.91 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage. … The Cardinals have played 12 one-goal games this season — including four in their last seven contests. SMU is 4-7-1 in those 12 games. … The Cardinals have scored first in 13 of their 20 games, going 9-3-1 in those 11 games. On the flip side, Friday's win over CSB was the first time this season SMU has won when its opponent scored first (1-6-0).
Saint Benedict Blazer Notes: With Friday's loss to SMU, the Blazers saw their winless streak climb to nine straight (0-7-2). CSB has not won since beating Chatham 3-1 in a nonconference game on Jan. 9. … CSB has been outscored 33-13 during its current nine-game slump. Five of those 13 goals came in the Blazers' two ties — a 4-4 deadlock vs. Concordia and Saturday's 1-1 stalemate vs. Hamline. … Gretchen Leyendecker scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season vs. SMU Friday. Leyendecker also leads the team in points (12), and is one of four CSB players with a team-best five assists. … Jenn Yelle and Ashley Olson scored Saint Benedict's other two goals vs. SMU Friday. … Saint Benedict has played four overtime games, with all four resulting in ties. … Eleven of CSB's 20 games have been decided by one goal or less — including its last five in a row. … Gretchen Leyendecker leads the team in goals (6) and points (11), while also sharing the team lead in assists (5) with Jennifer Yelle. … Lauren Herzog and Abbie Helminen have shared the goaltending duties, combining for a 3.04 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage. … CSB has scored first six times this season — including Friday vs. SMU — going 1-2-3 in those five games, while the Blazers are just 1-12-1 when their opponent scores first.
