ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team is back on the road on Friday, as the Cardinals travel to Mariucci Arena for a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Catherine


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

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Last Action:
The Cardinals earned three of a possible four points in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opener series against Hamline last weekend. The Cardinals made a first-period goal by Brittany Therrian (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) stand up in a 1-0 win on Friday at the SMU Ice Arena, then battled the Pipers to a 1-1 overtime tie in the rematch at Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, split its conference-opening series against Augsburg, losing 3-1 on Friday at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., then rebounding with a 4-2 win over the Auggies in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday.

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 and Wildcats conclude their two-game MIAC series on Saturday, as SMU hosts SCU in a 4 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
The Cardinals enter Friday's game at St. Catherine on a two-game unbeaten streak (1-0-1) and are 2-1-1 in their last four games. … Despite scoring just two goals against Hamline last weekend, SMU was able to pick up three of a possible four conference points and are just one point behind league-leading Gustavus after the opening weekend of conference play. … Saturday's 1-1 tie at Hamline marked the second overtime game of the season for SMU — with both games ended in ties. The Cardinals battled Lake Forest to a 2-2 stalemate in their season opener on Oct. 28. … Saturday's 1-1 tie was also the fifth tie in the last six overtime games for the Cardinals, who were 1-0-3 in OT games a year ago. … Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored her first goal of the season to account for the game's only scoring in SMU's 1-0 win over Hamline last Friday, while Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) netted the Cardinals' lone tally in Saturday's 1-1 tie. … Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) enter the weekend series against St. Catherine leading the team with three goals each. … Olson — who has led the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons — also owns team-highs 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.) kicked out all 21 shots she faced in recording her first shutout of the season — and third of her career — last Friday vs. Hamline. Gustafson followed that up with a 26-save effort on Saturday. … Gustafson boasts a 1.75 goals-against-average and a .938 save percentage. … SMU scored the game's first goal in both games vs. Hamline last weekend, 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. … Nine of the 13 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
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 Friday'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 17 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. Morningstar has played 102:58 minutes and owns a team-leading 3.50 goals-against-average and a .793 save percentage, while Geissler carries a 3.59 GAA and an .865 save percentage in 117:02 minutes. … St. Catherine has scored first in two of its four games, winning both. … SCU has outscored its opponents 8-4 in the third period.