BOSTON, Mass. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team kicks off the 2011 portion of its schedule on Monday, taking on Trinity College during the opening day of the UMass-Boston Codfish Bowl Tournament.



The Tournament Field:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-1-3 Overall)
Trinity Bantams (5-1-1 Overall)
Bowdoin Polar Bears (5-2-0 Overall)
UMass-Boston Beacons (4-5-0 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats (not available)

Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since taking three of four conference points from St. Catherine on Dec. 3-4. SMU opened with a 2-2 tie vs. the Wildcats at the SMU Ice Arena, then followed up with a 4-0 win in the rematch at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. Trinity picked up back-to-back wins over Norwich and Salve Regina on Dec. 10-11, as the Bantams beat fifth-ranked Norwich 2-1 on Dec. 10, then bounced Salve Regina 7-2 a day later. Bowdoin has been off since Dec. 10, when the Polar Bears held off Colby 3-1 in an NESCAC contest in Brunswick, Maine. UMass-Boston also last played on Dec. 10-11, beating Wesleyan (6-2) and Colby (2-1) on the Beacons' home ice.

Last Meeting:
The Cardinals have never faced any of the teams in this year's Codfish Bowl.

Up Next:
Following the Codfish Bowl, the Cardinals are off until Jan. 15, when they host St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Ice Arena.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
With the 1-0-1 showing against St. Catherine on Dec. 3-4, the Cardinals pushed their unbeaten streak to six straight (3-0-3). … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. St. Catherine on Dec. 3 marked the third straight Friday that SMU has settled for a tie — the Cardinals also tied Concordia 3-3 on Nov. 12 and Hamline 1-1 on Nov. 19. … The Cardinals' 4-0 win over St. Catherine on Dec. 4, meanwhile, was their third straight Saturday win — SMU also beat Concordia 5-2 on Nov. 13 and Hamline 2-1 on Nov. 20. … With their 6-1-3 record, the Cardinals are off to their best start, since going 8-1-1 to open the 2003-2004 season. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped 41 shots vs. St. Catherine on Dec. 4 to record her first collegiate shutout in just her second collegiate start. … Gustafson has now stopped 84 of the 88 shots she's faced this season, compiling a 2.03 goals-against-average and a .955 save percentage. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) scored a goal in both games vs. St. Catherine, while Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.), Stevie Fiek (Rochester, Minn.), Dy-anna Stewart (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) accounted for SMU's other four goals vs. the Wildcats. … After scoring a team-leading 12 goals a year ago, Olson's tally vs. St. Catherine on Dec. 3 was her first of the season. … Olson also leads the team in assists with eight and points with 10. … Therrien and Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) share the team lead in goals with six each. … Coolsaet recorded her first collegiate hat trick on Nov. 13 — scoring all three goals in the third period of SMU's 5-2 win over Concordia. … Five of Coolsaet's six goals have come in two games. The freshman forward recorded her first collegiate multiple-goal game with two goals in SMU's season-opening 5-0 win over Marian on Oct. 29. … Eighteen of the Cardinals' 31 goals this season have come from freshmen. … Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.), who stopped 34 of the 36 shots she faced against St. Catherine in her last start on Dec. 3, enters the Codfish Bowl boasting a 1.33 goals-against-average and a .942 save percentage — not to mention a seven-save shutout in SMU's 5-0 season-opening win over Marian. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 14-7 in the third period. … SMU has scored first in eight of its 10 games, going 6-0-2. … The Cardinals opened the season with three straight wins. SMU's 3-0-0 start was its first since going 4-0-0 to open the 1999-2000 season — the program's second year of existence | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Trinity Bantams News and Notes:
The Bantams — ranked No. 8 in the latest USCHO.com Poll — head into the Codfish Bowl riding a two-game winning streak and a three-game (2-0-1) unbeaten streak. … Trinity had its season-opening three-game winning streak snapped when the Bantams suffered their lone loss of the season, a 6-2 decision vs. Amherst on Dec. 3. … Trinity has outscored its opponents 17-7 in its five wins. … Sunday's game against Saint Mary's is the second neutral-site game of the season for the Bantams, who have yet to play a game at their opponent's home rink. … Kim Weiss enters tournament play as the Bantams' offensive leader in goals (7) and points (12). She also shares the team lead in assists (5) with Celia Colman-McGaw and Alexa Guglielmi. … Trinity's 21 goals have come from 10 different players, while 17 Bantams have recorded at least one point. … Alexa Pujol and Kristen Maxwell have shared the goaltending duties, with Pujol compiling a 1.47 goals-against-average and .957 save percentage in four games, while Maxwell has a 2.62 GAA and an .896 save percentage in three starts. … The Bantams are 3-0-0 when scoring the game's first goal and 2-1-1 when their opponent scores first | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Bowdoin Polar Bears News and Notes:
The Polar Bears' 3-1 win over Colby on Dec. 10 was their second straight victory. … Bowdoin is off to its best start since the 2002-2003 season. … It's been a streaky season for Bowdoin, as the Polar Bears opened with a three-game winning streak, dropped two straight and are now riding a two-game win streak. … Three of Bowdoin's five wins have been decided by one goal. … Kayte Holtz is the team's goal-scoring leader with five, while also recording a team-best eight points, one more than Shelagh Merrill and Emily Tang. … Tang has dished out a team-leading five assists. … Bowdoin's 21 goals have come from 10 different players. … The Polar Bears have used three goalies — Tara Connolly, Sage Santangelo and Kayla Lessard — through their first seven games. … Connolly leads the team with a 1.33 goals-against-average and a .947 save percentage. … Bowdoin is a perfect 3-0-0 when scoring the game's first goal. Both of the Polar Bear losses have come when their opponent scores first | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

UMass-Boston Beacons News and Notes:
With their 6-2 win over Wesleyan on Dec. 10, the Beacons' snapped their two-game losing streak, while their 2-1 win over Colby the following day gave UMass-Boston its first two-game winning streak of the season. … Three of the Beacons' four wins have been by 2-1 scores. … UM-Mass-Boston has been held to one goal or less in four of its five losses. … Lauren Duran scored the game-winner in the Beacons' Dec. 10 win over Colgy. It was her 75th career point. … Rachel Sousa and Kristen Smith share the team lead with four goals each, while Sousa also leads the team with three assists and seven points. … Fourteen of the 16 Beacons who have played this season have recorded at least one point — including goalie Leah Hallett, who picked up an assist in UMass-Boston's 5-1 loss to Norwich on Nov. 20. … Hallett also stopped a season-high 53 shots in that 5-1 loss to Norwich. … Hallett has started eight of the team's nine games, posting a 2.64 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage. … UMass-Boston has scored first in all four of its wins, going 0-4-0 when the Beacons' opponent scores first | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics