WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returns to MIAC play on Friday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.




The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2-0 MIAC / 3-10-0 Overall) vs.
St. Olaf Oles (0-3-3 MIAC / 5-6-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals gave up five unanswered goals — the first less than two minutes into the opening period and the second midway through the second — in dropping its final nonconference game, 5-2 to UW-Eau Claire last Saturday in Eau Claire, Wis. St. Olaf, meanwhile, gave up three unanswered goals — including the game-winner 1:40 into overtime — as the Oles dropped a 3-2 nonconference decision to Augsburg last Saturday in Northfield, Minn.

Earlier This Year:
November 6, 2010 — The Cardinals scored three goals in the second period and held off a late St. Olaf charge, as SMU handed the Oles a 3-1 nonconference setback at the SMU Ice Arena.

A Year Ago:
November 7, 2009: The Oles scored two goals in the game's opening minute – and three in the opening 10 minutes – and then held off a furious SMU rally to beat the Cardinals 5-2 in Northfield, Minn.

January 15, 2010: St. Olaf scored the game's first four goals in beating SMU 5-2 for the second straight time in Northfield, Minn.

January 16, 2010: The Cardinals surrendered a goal with five seconds remaining in the opening period and never recovered, falling to St. Olaf 4-1 at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Oles square off again in the second game of their two-game conference series on Saturday, this time in Northfield, Minn. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Today's game vs. St. Olaf is the first home game of 2011 — and the first home game since dropping a one-goal, 4-3 decision to Hamline on Nov. 19, 2010. SMU has played its last six games on the road — the last five all in the state of Wisconsin. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) scored both of SMU's goals vs. UW-Eau Claire last Saturday. … With his two-goal performance, Wentland became SMU's first multiple-goal scorer of the season. … Wentland enters tonight's game vs. St. Olaf with a team-best seven goals. He also leads the team with 13 points. … SMU goalie Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) stopped a season-high 41 shots vs. UW-River Falls last Friday, then kicked out 35 more shots on Saturday vs. UW-Eau Claire. … Horstman's 41-save effort vs. UW-River Falls was one shy of his career-best, and the fifth time in his collegiate career that he has stopped 40 or more shots in a game. … Austin Balko's (Midland, Mich.) seven assists are tops on the team. … The Cardinals' 298 goals this season have come from 14 different players, while 17 players have at least one point. … The Cardinals two goals vs. UW-Eau Claire snapped a string of four straight games in which the Cardinals were held to one goal or less. … After scoring 20 goals in their first seven games, the Cardinals have been held to seven goals in their last six games. … With their losses at UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire last weekend, the Cardinals are still searching for their first road win of the season (0-8-0). … Eight of SMU's 10 losses have come against teams that have been nationally ranked. … The Cardinals are 3-3-0 when scoring first, but are winless (0-7-0) when their opponent scores first. … SMU netted its first shorthanded goal of the season vs. UW-Stout on Nov. 4. … With their 5-2 and 2-1 wins over Concordia on Nov. 12-13, the Cardinals posted their first conference sweep since beating the Cobbers twice (14-3, 7-2) during the 2007-2008 season. … The Cardinals' 2-0 start to the conference schedule was their first since opening the 2001-2002 MIAC season with back-to-back wins over Hamline (5-2, 5-2) | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

St. Olaf Oles News and Notes:
With last Saturday's 3-2 OT loss to Augsburg, the Oles have now played six overtime games this season, going 0-3-3. … Ten of St. Olaf's 14 games have now been decided by one goal or less — including their last five in a row. … Derek Grogan and Isak Tranvik accounted for St. Olaf's two goals vs. Augsburg Saturday, while Jeff Warren assisted on both goals. … Grogan and Peter Rohn have each scored a team-best six goals, while Grogan and Tranvik share the team lead in assists with six each. … Grogan boasts a team-best 12 points, while Rohn is second with 10. … The Oles have gotten goals from 14 different players this year, while 21 different players have recorded at least one point. … Goalie Nick Krauss has appeared in 10 of the team's 14 games, compiling a 2.34 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage. … Both Krause and back-up Ben Leis have recorded a shutout this season — Krause stopping all 19 shots he faced in a 6-0 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 26, while Leis kicked out 22 in St. Olaf's 1-0 win over the Foresters the following day. … St. Olaf has scored first in 10 of its 14 games, going 5-3-2. The Oles are still searching for their first win when their opponent scores first (0-3-1) … The Oles are coming off a fifth-place conference finish — and their sixth MIAC playoff appearance in their last seven seasons — in 2009-2010. … St. Olaf fell to Augsburg 3-2 in double overtime in last year's conference playoffs. … The Oles return three First-Team All-MIAC selections in Tranvik, Britton Smith and Charlie Raskob. | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics