WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team is back in conference play on Friday, hosting Bethel in the first game of their two-game MIAC series. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.





The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-3-0 MIAC / 4-11-0 Overall) vs.
Bethel Royals (2-3-3 MIAC / 3-11-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals are coming off a conference split against St. Olaf last weekend. SMU opened with a 2-0 victory over the Oles on Friday at the SMU Ice Arena, while St. Olaf turned the tables in the rematch in Northfield, Minn., on Saturday, scoring four unanswered goals in a 4-3 victory. Bethel, meanwhile, managed to get one point off 11th-ranked Hamline last weekend, falling 6-3 at home on Friday, before battling to a 4-4 tie on Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.

A Year Ago:
January 22, 2010: For the third time in their last six games, the Cardinals entered the third period Friday with the lead, clinging to a 4-3 advantage against the Royals. When the final horn sounded, however, the third period had again been SMU's Achilles' heel, as Bethel scored twice in the final 20 minutes — including the game-winner with 2:43 remaining — as the Royals edged the Cardinals 5-4 in a conference game at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn.

January 23, 2010: The Royals erupted for nine goals — scoring four times in the third, three times in the second and twice in the third — en route to a 9-1 conference win over the Cardinals at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals head to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for the second game in their two-game conference series against Bethel Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Last Saturday's game at St. Olaf was the seventh road game in the last eight games for the Cardinals. … SMU's 2-0 win over the Oles on Friday snapped the Cardinals' season-high seven-game losing streak. … Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) and Andrew Ketterer (Peoria, Ill.) found the back of the net in Friday's 2-0 victory vs. St. Olaf, while Chase Marshall (Maple Grove, Minn.), Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) and Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska) accounted for SMU's three goals vs. the Oles Saturday. … The goals by Nagel and Ketterer were the first of their collegiate careers. … Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) stopped all 27 shots he faced vs. St. Olaf last Friday en route to his first collegiate shutout. … Horstman's shutout was the first by the Cardinals since Ryne Ess and Curtis Nosal combined on a 19-save shutout in SMU's 5-0 win over Augsburg on Jan. 24, 2004. It was also just the second SMU shutout in the last decade. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.), who scored both SMU goals vs. UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 8 — marking the first time this season the Cardinals had a multiple-goal scorer — picked up a pair of assists in Saturday's game vs. St. Olaf to push his team-leading point total to 15. … Wentland also leads the team in goals (7) and shares the team lead in assists (8) with Balko. … Horstman, who finished with 58 saves against the Oles last weekend, enters this weekend's games vs. Bethel with a 4.15 goals-against-average and an .884 save percentage. … The Cardinals' 33 goals this season have come from 16 different players, while 19 players have at least one point. … The Cardinals have now scored two goals or more in each of their last three games, after snapping a string of four straight games in which the Cardinals were held to one goal or less. … SMU's three goals vs. St. Olaf were the most the Cardinals have scored since scoring three in a 4-3 loss to Hamline on Nov. 20. … With their 4-3 loss at St. Olaf Saturday, the Cardinals are still searching for their first road win of the season (0-9-0). … Eight of SMU's 11 losses have come against teams that have been nationally ranked. … All four of SMU's wins have come when the Cardinals scored first. SMU is 0-7-0 when its opponent scores first. … SMU netted its only 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

Bethel Royals News and Notes:
Bethel's 4-4 tie vs. 11th-ranked Hamline last Saturday snapped a three-game losing streak, but extended the Royals' winless streak to four straight (0-3-1). The Royals' last win was a 10-1 rout of Northland on Dec. 10. … The Royals' 10-1 win over Northland is their only win in their last 10 games. Bethel is 1-6-3 over that span — but has scored 40 goals. … The Royals have played three overtime games, and all three have ended in ties — 3-3 and 4-4 vs. Concordia and 4-4 vs. Hamline. … Jack Paul scored three of the Royals' seven goals vs. Hamline, netting one on Friday night and two more on Saturday. … Tyler Sorenson accounted for Bethel's other goal in Friday's 6-3 loss, while Josh Shingler and Garrett Windle found the back of the net in Saturday's 4-4 tie. … With his three goals vs. the Pipers, Paul enters this weekend's games vs. Saint Mary's with a team-leading 16 goals and 24 points. … Jon Crouse and Christian Fogerty share the team lead in assists with 13 each. … The Royals boast seven players with at least 10 points. … Twenty-three of Bethel's 56 goals have come on the power play. … Goalie Zach Bush has appeared in 13 of the team's 17 games, compiling a 3.70 goals-against-average and an .890 save percentage. … Bethel has been outscored 25-15 in the first period. … The Royals are just 1-4-2 at home this season. … Bethel is 2-2-1 when scoring first, but just 1-9-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics