WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns home on Saturday, hosting St. Catherine in the second game of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against St. Catherine. Puck drops at 4 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0-2 MIAC | 2-2-3 Overall)
at St. Catherine Wildcats (1-1-1 MIAC | 3-1-1 Overall)

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Last Night:
The Cardinals and Wildcats each scored once in each of the first two periods, as the two teams skated to a 2-2 MIAC tie at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Catherine — A Year Ago:
December 3, 2010: SMU's game against the Wildcats ended the same way the last two Fridays ended — in a tie with an MIAC team — as SMU battled St. Catherine to a 2-2 deadlock at the SMU Ice Arena.
December 4, 2010: The Cardinals picked up their third straight Saturday victory, as Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped all 41 shots she faced for her first collegiate shutout in guiding SMU to a 4-0 victory over the Wildcats at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are off for the Thanksgiving holiday, before returning to action on Dec. 2-3 against St. Olaf. SMU hosts the Oles on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena, before heading to Northfield, Minn., for the rematch on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, is also off over the holiday, returning to the ice on Dec. 2, heading to St. Cloud, Minn., for a 7:30 MIAC game against Saint Benedict. SCU will host the Blazers in the second game of the two-game series on Saturday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., at 3 p.m.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
With their 2-2 tie against St. Catherine, the Cardinals are now unbeaten in their last three games (1-0-2) and are 2-1-2 in their last five. … Friday's tie against St. Catherine was the second straight overtime tie for the Cardinals, who battled Hamline to a 1-1 deadlock last Saturday. … Friday's tie at St. Catherine marked the third overtime game of the season for SMU — with all three games ending in ties. The Cardinals battled Lake Forest to a 2-2 stalemate in their season opener on Oct. 28, and settled for a 1-1 tie against Hamline last Saturday. … Friday's 2-2 tie vs. SCU was also the sixth tie in the last seven overtime games for the Cardinals, who were 1-0-3 in OT games a year ago. … Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) scored both of SMU's goals against St. Catherine Friday, giving the SMU sophomore three goals on the season. … Coolsaet has now scored SMU's last three goals, having tallied the Cardinals' lone goal in last Saturday's 1-1 tie against Hamline. … With her two goals vs. St. Catherine Friday, Coolsaet moves into a tie for the team lead in goals (3) with Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.). … Olson — who has led the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons — and Peterson also share the team lead in assists (3) and points (6). … Olson recorded her first collegiate hat trick and her first collegiate five-point game in SMU's 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.), who kicked out all 21 shots she faced in recording her first shutout of the season — and third of her career — last Friday vs. Hamline, finished with 26 saves in Friday's game against St. Catherine. … Gustafson boasts a 1.77 goals-against-average and a .936 save percentage. … SMU has scored the game's first goal in each of its last three games, after surrendering the first goal of the game in each of their first four contests. … The Cardinals are 1-13-2 in the last 15 games in which their opponent scores first — the lone victory being their 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … Ten of the 15 goals allowed by SMU this season have come in the second period. … SMU's 2-2, season-opening tie against Lake Forest on Oct. 28 marked the first time the Cardinals have opened a season with a tie since battling UW-River Falls to a 2-2 deadlock to kick off the 2006-07 season.

St. Catherine Wildcats News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Last Friday's 3-1 loss at home against Augsburg snapped the Wildcats' season-opening two-game winning streak. … SCU has scored 16 goals in their its three wins this season, including a season-high seven in a 7-6 win over Lindenwood on Nov. 5. … Megan Killmer scored two of the Wildcats' four goals in Saturday's 4-2 win over Augsburg. … Kasey Evans enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's with a team-leading six goals, one more than Killmer. The two have combined for 11 of the team's 19 goals this season. … Four of Evans' six goals have come on the power play. All told, St. Catherine has scored 10 power-play tallies this season. … Kelsey Abrahamson and Shelby Salmonsen share the team lead in assists with five each, while Evans' eight points are also a team high. … St. Catherine has used three different goalies, with Samantha Geissler and Haley Morningstar seeing the brunt of the work. Geissler owns a team-leading 2.97 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage, while Morningstar has played 102:58 minutes with a 3.50 goals-against-average and a .793 save percentage. … St. Catherine has scored first in two of its five games, winning both. … SCU has outscored its opponents 8-4 in the third period.